One More button
by kenziebabe91
Summary: My story of what i thought could've happened with Castle and Beckett after 'Last Call.'  Hope y'all enjoy this story!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! I've decided to write this quick little Castle story after the last episode, I felt that there should be more to it. Hope you guys all enjoy it!

One More Button.

"You may want to pop one more button just in case." Said Castle.

Beckett looked at him and he expected her eye roll or a gun threat but instead she went to her shirt and unbuttoned her shirt revealing a black lace bra. He could feel himself tighten; the way she looked at him made him want to pull her in to her car and take her right there. But of course she would definitely kick his ass right then and there. Instead he let out a short breath and tried to calm himself down. A few moments later he was still overwhelmed with what had happened, It didn't help that she was flirting wildly with the bartender at the old haunt, the way she spoke and the way she leaned over the bar was irresistible. He couldn't stand not being able to touch her; they had been partners for three years now, he knew nearly everything about her and he had a deep care for her. They had become close friends but he wanted more; and not just because of the button, that was just an added bonus. He wanted Kate Beckett.

* * *

"So Detective…." Castle began as they finished their round of drinks at the Old Haunt.

The case was now over and they decided to all grab drinks at the Old Haunt to celebrate it. Esposito, Ryan, and Captain Montgomery left an hour ago leaving the two of them alone.

"Yes Castle?" She replied.

"How about we grab another round of drinks, if you're up to it…"

"Oh I'm up to it; I know how to hold my liquor."

They ordered one more round. The Old Haunt was nearly empty except for the staff and a one or two other people around. They drank their next round and knew that this one was definitely their last.

"So why did you listen to me?" He asked all of a sudden.

"Sometimes I need a drink after a long case." She answered.

"Not about that, about my button suggestion?"

"Oh…" She chuckled. "I like seeing you get all hot and bothered."

"I wasn't hot and bothered; I don't get hot and bothered." He lied.

"Oh really? How about now?" She asked unbuttoning two buttons on her blouse revealing a navy blue lace bra this time.

He nearly lost his breathing.

"Nope, nothing!" He lied.

She moved closer to him and put her hand on his thigh. She put his lips near his ear and started to whisper.

"Do you still want to know where my tattoo is? Because I'll show you if you really want to know."

He couldn't stand it anymore, he needed to taste her and have her in his arms. He grabbed her and pulled her into a bruising kiss. He could hear a quiet moan in her throat; she was enjoying this just as much as he was.

"Castle." She said breathlessly as they pulled apart.

"Detective." He replied coolly. He was somewhat satisfied with the kiss but he had gotten a taste of Beckett and now he wanted more.

"What was that?"

"My dear Detective, I would hope that you knew what this was by now." He teased. "After all…"

He was interrupted by her lips on his. She was hooked on him too. They couldn't stop; it was as if they were glued to each others mouths. One kiss was all it took for them to lose control.

"My place, or yours?" Beckett asked breaking the kiss.

"Yours." He replied knowing that his mother and Alexis would be at the loft tonight.

They left the old Haunt and hailed a taxi to her new apartment. They tried to keep their hands to themselves throughout the car ride out of respect to the taxi driver and to each other. But as soon they were inside her apartment their hands were everywhere.

He unbuttoned her blouse as quickly as possible wanting to see all of her.

"So where's the tattoo Detective?" He teased.

"You'll have to find it Castle." She replied.

They made their way to the nearest surface which happened to be her brand new couch was delivered yesterday afternoon. He trailed kisses down her collarbone all the way to her stomach. They weren't thinking of what the consequences would be. They just wanted to be with each other after waiting all this time and dancing circles around each other for the past three years. The sex was amazing. They both knew that they couldn't ignore what happened; it was an unforgettable experience that could never leave their minds.

That night they slept soundly in each others arms, they knew that tomorrow would either bring awkwardness or it would lead them to talk about what happened. But for now neither cared about the consequences that this night would bring.

So I hope you guys enjoyed that. If y'all like it I will continue if not I'll scrap it. Now for some shameless self-promotion, I have three other stories; Red Satin (Veronica Mars fanfic), Relieving Stress (Criminal Minds) and It's definitely Love (the sequel to Relieving Stress.) Please read, and review and enjoy your day!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! I'm in awe over how many of you guys like this story, I seriously thought I'd get only 1 review and it would tell me to get the F off of this site! You guys are all really sweet! Many of you asked about the tattoo and I know I didn't put any details about it but I did it on purpose so that in the next chapters I could use it in a 'situation.' Here goes chapter 2!

One More Button

Chapter 2:

The New York sun shone through the apartment window. Kate Beckett could feel a pair of arms around her; she knew what had happened. She wasn't drunk the night before and she could remember eagerly flirting with Castle and then going back to her apartment with Castle in tow. She tried to slowly get up and move out of his grasp without waking him up. She heard him rustle and froze hoping that he'd continue sleeping.

"Beckett?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah Castle?" She replied.

"We have to talk about this don't we?"

"What do you think?" She replied crossly.

"Alright, sorry." He apologized before she could get angrier.

"I'm going to take a shower and then we can talk." She said quickly trying to find something to cover herself up.

"You don't need to cover yourself up; I've already seen you naked." He said.

"Don't make me shoot you!" She threatened. She picked up her blouse and underwear and quickly put them on and ran to the bathroom.

Her shower was short. She knew they needed to talk about last nights escapades. When she walked into her kitchen she saw castle dressed and making breakfast.

"You didn't need to make anything you know that right?"

"I know but i felt it was a good way to transition to our talk…."

"Yeah, about that…." She began. "We probably shouldn't have had sex, we work together…"

"I completely agree. We're friends and plus I've got Gina and you've got Josh."

"Yeah, let's just pretend that nothing ever happened." She offered.

"Yes, life can go on as it usually does."

She nodded and took a sip of her coffee. They both sat in her kitchen quietly drinking and eating.

"Well I'm going to go home. Alexis is probably worried about where I am." He said breaking the silence. "I'll see you at the precinct?"

"Yeah I'll see you there." She replied.

When he left she let out a long breath. She prayed that last night would not make anything awkward between them. She had become very close friends with Castle and hoped that nothing would change.

* * *

When Castle got home Alexis ran to him.

"Dad, where have you been?" She asked.

"I was out pretty late last night celebrating the end to the case so I slept on Espostio's couch." He lied.

"I was so worried. Call the next time you don't come home."

"You my darling daughter do need to worry about me, that's my job." He gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head and then went to get ready.

When he arrived at the precinct he saw Beckett at her desk. Just looking at her; rifling through paper work made him think back to last night. He shook his head to clear his mind of last nights activities.

"Hey Castle." Ryan greeted.

"Sup Castle." Esposito greeted also.

"Hey." Castle said quietly.

"Is there something wrong man?" Esposito asked noticing the difference with the usually hyperactive writer.

"No, it's just a lazy day for me." He lied. He walked over and sat in his usual spot.

"Morning Castle." Beckett greeted trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

He nodded in reply and tried not to think of her naked; which was a pretty hard image to erase from his mind. She was perfect, he cared for her so much but they could never be together; too much would get in the way, they were direct opposites and they would always disagree. It would never work.

The day went by slow; endless paper work took over the lives of the 12th precinct. Ryan and Esposito could sense that something was wrong. Not once during the day did Castle flirt with Beckett and not once did he crack a joke. It was as if aliens had taken over their bodies.

"What is going on with those two?" Esposito asked.

"I have no idea but we need to find out." Ryan replied. "First Castle comes in all mopey and now there isn't an ounce of his humor."

"And look at how they're sitting, they're not looking at each other or really talking."

"Do you think Castle pissed her off?"

"I don't know. She doesn't seem pissed but who knows she can put up a good front."

Ryan shrugged and got back to his work. He knew that's something was up with them but he knew that they would eventually find out.

* * *

Two weeks later:

Things had finally gotten back to normal. Castle and Beckett were ragging on each other, Beckett used open threats on Castle and they seemed to be getting along perfectly. They had a new case that was keeping every one busy so that had helped them ease the tension and awkwardness that was apparent the week before. Ryan and Esposito were still trying to figure out what was happening with the two but decided to give it a rest since they seemed to be getting along again.

"So we might have another lead." Beckett said as she walked into the lounge.

"Ooh really? Let me guess it was the concierge!" Castle guessed excitedly.

"No a…."

"The handyman?" Castle interrupted.

"No, apparently our victims husband was having an affair and two days before she was killed she spoke to the other woman. The witness said some strong words were exchanged and he even heard a threat or two."

"Scandalous! I love it!" He said as he watched Beckett reach into the higher cabinet. He saw her shirt pull up slightly and saw it again. It was small but he could make out the tattoo on her right hip. He lost control of his breathing and knocked his coffee on to the ground.

"Castle what the hell?"

"Sorry." He apologized. "I just…"

Before he could makeup an excuse she saw that her tattoo was showing. The awkwardness was back; the small ink drawing on her hip was enough to flood memories back into their heads and to make them silent.

"Sorry Castle." She mumbled and was about to leave the lounge.

"Hey boss, we found her. She's in the interrogation room waiting." Esposito said popping his head through the door way. He could tell that their awkwardness was back. When he walked in they were frozen and nervous.

"Thanks." She replied and quickly left. He noticed that Castle didn't follow like he usually did; he quickly made his way to Ryan to tell him.

"Hey man, it's happening again!"

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked.

"Castle and Beckett, they're being weird again." He replied. "I went to tell Beckett about the woman in interrogation and I found both of them frozen and not looking at each other."

"What the hell happened between the two? They were finally back to normal I guess whatever happened must have been big."

As the day went on Castle and Beckett wouldn't look at each other. Castle didn't nag at her and actually behaved for once; even Captain Montgomery noticed the switch. They all tried to keep doing their work but this was getting to them; they didn't like how Castle and Beckett were switching like light switches. They all hoped things could be normal once more.

Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I was having a teensy bit of trouble with it but I'm somewhat happy with it. I'm switching this story to T because I've decided to limit all the risqué scenes I had planned. I feel as though it would work better this way. I feel that the placement of the tattoo was written in a confusing manner. It supposed to be on her hip bone near her stomach. I hope that cleared it up for you guys. Enjoy your day/night!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, I'm so excited about this story. I love all the reviews; they are what motivate me to keep writing, that and watching Castle. This part takes place 2 weeks after the last chapter. I hope this chapter makes all you readers happy!

One More Button

Chapter 3:

Kate Beckett woke up hoping today would be like yesterday. Everything was now working out better with her and Castle; they had finally gotten over that initial stage of awkwardness and they had finally really discussed what happened. Everything was back to normal and she was happy. She showered and got ready for work, the precinct hadn't gotten another case in a few days so her days consisted of paper work.

After she was finished getting ready she realized that something was wrong. After checking her calendar twice she realized that she was supposed to get her period today. It was already 7 am, usually she would have had it already but it wasn't here. She hoped that it would come a bit later; if it wasn't here by noon then she would definitely have to worry.

When she arrived at work she saw castle waiting at her desk with the morning coffee. As much as she tried to put it the back of her head the thought of her being pregnant was taking over her mind. If she was pregnant she knew that the baby wasn't Joshs; they had always used protection when they had sex. She was sure that the baby would be Castles; she remembered that they hadn't used any sort of protection that night.

_"Stop worrying!" _She thought. _"It'll be here by noon."_

"Beckett are you okay?" Castle asked.

"What?" She replied absentmindedly.

"You were kind of zoned out for about a minute."

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?" He pried.

"None of your business Castle."

"Oh come on Beckett, we're friends!" He begged. "Tell me!"

"Josh is taking me out tonight and he won't tell me anything about where we're going." She lied.

"Oh." He replied sounding upset.

After that he stopped talking and got back to whatever work he was doing. Beckett tried hard not to stress herself out over her possible pregnancy. It was tough but the amount of paper work she had was enough to clear her mind of it, at least for a little while.

* * *

By noon her period still wasn't here. Now she knew she could start worrying. On her lunch break she drove to the pharmacy and picked up a pregnancy test. She knew that she couldn't take it at the precinct; the risk of someone finding the box was too great so she decided to head home and take the test. Josh was working until midnight tonight so there was no chance of him being at her apartment. She was beyond nervous; this had only happen one other time in her life but thankfully the test had been negative. She prayed that the result would be the same this time.

She peed on the stick and almost instantly the second line began to appear on the test.

"Shit!" She cursed. She decided to try the other test in the box; if this one was positive then she would definitely have to set an appointment…. And oh yeah tell Castle. After taking the second test she closed her eyes and made a silent prayer to everything people believed in. She looked at the results and once again it was positive.

"Great!" She exclaimed. She was pregnant with Castles baby; she was so upset that she began to cry. She did not ever think that she would be in this situation at her age. She was a New York City detective for goodness sake, she shouldn't be crying over an unplanned pregnancy.

She picked herself up and wiped her eyes of the tears that had fallen. Part of her mind thought of Castles reaction; he was already a father, a pretty great father. She loved seeing him and Alexis together. It gave her a tiny glimpse of hope in her situation.

When she arrived back to the precinct she found Castle sitting at her desk.

"Castle, what did I tell you about sitting in my chair?" She asked trying to ease her stress.

"That I shouldn't get caught…?" He replied.

She rolled her eyes and sat down. She knew that she had to tell him but now wasn't the right time to tell him she was carrying her child. There were too many people around and it was too risky to tell him somewhere where everyone could hear them.

"Castle we need to talk." She began. "Outside."

"If it's about your chair, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." He said.

"No let's just go outside, now."

"Okay, okay."

They walked out of the precinct and walked over to the nearby coffee shop.

"What's so important you had to tell me here?" He asked.

"Castle, I'm pregnant." She replied.

He choked on his coffee. He never expected to hear that again.

"I'm sorry you're what?"

"I'm pregnant." She repeated.

"And it's mine…?" He hated asking but he knew that she was with Josh.

"Josh and I always use protection, we didn't."

"Wow." Was all he could say, he was floored at the news that he might be a father again. "Do you want to keep it?"

She shrugged. She didn't know if she wanted to keep the baby or not. One part of her was excited that she was going to be a mother. Castle was a great father and she loved the thought of him hold their child. But the other part was terrified; she was still with Josh, she had a dangerous job that would put her and her child at risk. She didn't know what to do.

"Well I'll respect whatever choice you make, and I want you to know that if you do keep the baby that I'll stick by you through every step of the way. I love being a father and I really don't mind being a father again." He said.

"Thanks Castle." She replied. She was glad that he was letting her make the decision. "We should get back to the precinct now; I'm guessing Esposito and Ryan are taking bets by now."

They grabbed their coffees and walked back to the precinct. When they got back they acted as if nothing had changed, they just sat and continued their work. Beckett contemplated what to do with her current situation while Castle prayed that he would get the chance to be a father again.

That's all for now. I hope you liked my twist on the story. If you don't then I'm sorry but I won't change it, I like the way it's turning out in my mind so far. Please review and enjoy your day/night!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating as quickly as usual but I have had a crazy work schedule because of the holidays. Then my fiancé got sick and passed it on to me so now we're both in bed with a big jar of Vicks, blankets, ginger ale, and crackers, watching our Criminal Minds DVDs. Anyways some of you didn't like the adding of the pregnancy thing but the reason I did that was because a lot of my engaged and married friends are pregnant and having babies and I now really want one! But of course our rule is no babies until after we get married=( Also this isn't going to be the typical Castle, Beckett, and Baby story; I'm hoping that it'll turn out the way I want it to and that you guys will like it! Okay so here is chapter 4, which takes place a week later!

One More Button

Chapter 4:

After having a week to decide Kate had finally made a decision. She was now meeting up with Castle at local diner so that they could talk. Naturally she was the first to arrive so she was left to sit and contemplate whether or not her decision was right. This had been the toughest decision she had ever made but she knew that her choice was a good solution for her.

"Hey Beckett." Castle said as he sat down. He sounded nervous, which was unusual for him. "I'm guessing you've made the decision."

She nodded. "Castle, I can't keep this baby. My job is entirely too dangerous for me to be carrying let alone raise it."

His heart dropped. He was looking forward to being a father of a little baby again. During the weekend he found Alexis' old toys and her baby pictures and couldn't help but imagine the new baby.

"I understand." He replied sadly. He really did understand, Kate had a dangerous job and he was involved in that danger too. If something were to happen to both of them they wouldn't be able to raise their child. "Do you want me to come with you when you…"

"No, it's fine. I'd rather do it alone." She replied.

"Ok, if you need me you know you can call me." He said.

"I know." She answered along with a nod.

They ate their lunch in silence. The heaviness of the news was a silencer.

* * *

The day of the procedure was nerve-wracking; she couldn't stop thinking of what she was giving up. If her mother were still alive she would have been so happy to be a grandmother, regardless of how the baby was conceived. She started to think of how the baby would look like if she actually gave birth. Her thoughts continued until her name was called. She jumped out of her trance and followed the nurse. While she sat on the table in her horrid paper gown she had an epiphany; she wanted to keep the baby! As crazy as it was, she wanted to keep it. She quickly got dressed up and began to leave.

"Are you leaving?" The doctor asked when he saw that she was dressed in her day clothes.

"Yes. I'm sorry; I can't go through with this." She answered.

"Alright, that is understandable. Before you leave I'd like to give you a few readings and then you can be on your way."

"Thank you."

After she received her readings she quickly got up and left. While she was stuck in traffic on her way home all that involved keeping the baby hit her. She'd have to tell Josh, her co-workers, her father, and not to forget Castle. She started to panic, she could handle telling her father, he'd be happy to have the new addition; but how would Josh handle his girlfriend being impregnated by another man? How would her co-workers and boss react to having a pregnant homicide detective? And finally how would Castle react? How would Martha and Alexis react? And she almost forgot Gina; Castle was still involved with someone else.

When she got home she found Josh sleeping on her couch. He probably had just come back from an overnight on-call shift at the hospital. She figured she could tell him later after he woke up. She knew that she needed to tell her father first; he was the only family she had and she knew he'd want to hear of such news. She picked up her phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?" she heard him answer.

"Dad, it's Katie." She replied.

"Katie, how are you?" He asked happily.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm good. Why did you call?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to have a late lunch together later." She replied. There was no way she would tell her father that she was pregnant over the phone.

"I'd like that." He said happily. "Let's meet at 2."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then."

It was only 12:30 at the moment. Josh wouldn't be up for a few more hours so she had time to go out to see her father and return in time to tell Josh. She was somewhat nervous to tell her father. She knew that he wouldn't be angry but she didn't want him to be disappointed that she was pregnant with someone else's baby. Her dad loved Josh, he was glad that she met someone who made her happy. But her dad also loved Castle. He thought he was funny and very caring to his only child.

By the time she went to go meet her father her nerves were out of control. Her head was aching with all the possible outcomes of today.

"Hey dad." She waved when she saw him.

"Hi Katie, how are you?"

They hugged each other and sat down.

"Katie, you don't look so good. Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, I just have something important to tell you." She replied.

"I knew it. You didn't sound like yourself on the phone." He said. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know how to say this but…I'm pregnant."

"Honey that's great! How di Josh take the news?"

"Josh doesn't know yet?"

"Why not?"

"It's not his…." She said quietly.

"It isn't? Who's the father Katie?" He asked. "Do I know him?"

"Yeah, you know him." She replied. "Castle's the father."

Her father sighed. He wasn't disappointed like she thought he was. He like both of the men, it just hurt to see his little girl so upset with herself.

"Honey, that's wonderful. How did Castle take it?" He asked.

She looked up in surprise, she had no clue that her father would react that way.

"He's happy. He likes being a father." She replied. She knew she was somewhat lying to her father; Castle knew that she was pregnant and he was happy but now he thought she was getting an abortion.

"Well that's great; I can't believe I'm going to be a grandpa." He exclaimed. "How far along are you?"

"I don't know maybe five or six weeks. I still have to set a doctor's appointment up."

He looked happy. She was glad; she wanted at least one person on her side. It was even better that it was her father. She didn't know how she would handle it if he wasn't there for her.

All that was left now was to tell Josh, her co-workers and friends, and Castle.

That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't please don't send hateful comments or messages because I have received a few. If you don't like it then don't read. I already know where this story goes and I feel that it can be pretty good so please just have faith. The next chapter should be up soon. Please review and enjoy your day/night!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey again! I felt that I needed to put another chapter up. Also I feel as though I need to mention this because of the last chapter. I am pro-choice and I believe that every woman deserves the chance to decide what's right for her body. The reason I made Kate not go through with it was because personally if I was put into that situation I would never go through that, I think that I would think about all the possibilities that a baby would bring to my life. Maybe I've got baby fever but it's how I feel. Here goes chapter 5!

One More Button

Chapter 5:

Rick sat at home trying to write; it was hard writing knowing that Kates appointment was today. Although he respected her choice and decision why she was going through with it he couldn't help but be sad about it. That was his child too and he would never be able to hold it like he had with Alexis.

"What's the matter kiddo?" Martha asked noticing her sons odd behavior lately.

"Nothing, I'm just having trouble writing."

"I see that, but what's keeping you from writing?" She asked. "You've been acting strange lately, Alexis has noticed too."

"It's nothing mother. It's just there haven't been many cases coming in and I'm sort of out of ideas." He lied.

Martha sighed know she wouldn't get the truth. "Okay, I hope this writers block passes."

"Thanks." He replied. He knew his mother didn't buy his excuse but he was glad she let it go.

* * *

When Kate arrived home Josh wasn't on the couch anymore. She heard the shower running and decided now was the time to make her appointment.

"Dr. Stewart's office how may I help you." The receptionist answered.

"Hi this is Kate Beckett; I was wondering if the doctor had any open appointments for this week?"

"Let me see….." She replied. "Sorry Detective, the closest opening we have is two weeks from today."

"That's fine, I'll take it." She said.

"And what is this appointment for?"

"It's for my first prenatal appointment and I need an ultrasound."

"Alrighty; I'll write you in. Congratulations Detective!" She said.

"Thanks." She replied. She hung up and found a little bit of relief.

"Hey, you're home." Josh said when he was finally out of the shower.

"Yeah, I went to have lunch with my father."

"That sounds nice. How is he doing?"

"He's doing well. He says hi."

"That's nice of him. So what do you want to do tonight?"

"I….We actually need to talk about something important."

"Okay, shoot." He said.

She felt her stomach drop; Josh was the nicest guy ever. He rarely got angry, he volunteered, he was always smiling and he understood everything in her life. She just hoped that he would be understanding and nice now.

"I'm pregnant." She finally said.

"Wow, you're pregnant." He replied.

She nodded feeling ashamed of herself.

"It's not mine is it?" He asked calmly already knowing the answer.

She shook her head.

"Who's the father?"

"Castle."

"When did this happen?" He asked sadly.

"It was last month….we were drinking and celebrating the end of a case."

He nodded trying to comprehend that he had been cheated on by the woman he thought he could see himself married to.

"How far along are you?" He asked.

"Five or six weeks, I won't know for sure until my doctor's appointment in two weeks." She replied. "Josh, I'm sorry I betrayed you."

All he did was nod. She didn't know what was going through his head; now was the time she wished she could read minds.

"Kate I love you, but I don't think I can do this…." He began. "Don't get me wrong, I love kids but I can't raise another mans child. I've seen Castle with his daughter, he's a great father and he loves his daughter; I don't want to take this away from him." He finished.

Her eyes were beginning to sting with tears; he was right. She knew she couldn't replace Castle with Josh.

"I'm sorry." He said giving her a kiss at the top of her head. "I'll still help you out if you need to. I can actually get you in with the resident OB at the hospital if you want?"

"Thanks." She replied. "Thanks for being so nice and understanding."

"It's not a problem. I'll call Dr. Anderson to setup an appointment." He said. "Do you need an ultrasound too?"

She nodded. She was so happy to know that Josh didn't become angry. She was glad to have found such a kind and understanding man, even if he did breakup with her. He was thinking about someone else like he always did, that was what made him a good doctor. He always put others first in every situation.

Going back to work on Monday was scary. She still hadn't told Castle like she was planning to and she knew that there would be awkwardness because he still thought she went through with the abortion.

She walked into the precinct hoping that she would be the first one there so that she could have some time to prep for her talk with Castle; but before she could even sit she her phone rang.

"Beckett." She answered.

"Hey boss, we got a body." Esposito spoke. He gave her the directions and then hung up.

She immediately called Castle knowing that he would want to know about it.

When she arrived at the scene she found Lanie crouched over the body and Esposito and Ryan question the man who found the body. Castle arrived shortly with cups of coffee for everyone. As much as she wanted to drink her coffee Josh told her to limit her caffeine intake especially during the first trimester. She thanked him regardless and went to see what Lanie had come up with.

"Female; mid to late twenties; with ligature marks at the wrists and ankles." Lanie began. "Cause of death seems to be blunt force trauma."

"Do we have an I.D.?" Kate asked.

"Nope, but I'll check missing persons."

When they returned to the precinct Kate had noticed Castle barely spoke to her or anyone else; and she wasn't the only one who noticed the change. Esposito and Ryan knew that something was off with Castle but they knew they needed to work on this case. She still hadn't told anyone at work about her pregnancy like she needed to and she hadn't had the chance to talk to Castle about the change in plans.

_"It can wait until tomorrow." _She thought. _"This case needs to be solved."_

By the afternoon they had gotten an I.D. and spoken to the family of the victim whose name was Abigail 'Abby' Carter and got a few names of possible suspects. They found the Abigail's boyfriend at his work and brought him in for questioning. He didn't seem like the killer type but she knew that even the smallest, frailest person could be deadly if provoked enough.

After the interview she had more people to add to the suspect list. One specific suspect was Jason Philips, Abigail's project partner at Columbia University. Abigail's boyfriend mentioned that Jason was following her around and called her constantly.

They drove over to the suspect's apartment and heard the fighting. Beckett knocked on the door with one hand and held her gun with the other.

"Jason Philips this is the NYPD open up." She shouted when he wouldn't open the door. Beckett stepped aside and let Esposito kick open the door but before he could the door burst open and a man ran out with a gun in hand. Esposito and Ryan ran after the potential suspect and Castle and Beckett were left at the apartment. There they found and unidentified man lying on the ground, unconscious. They called an ambulance and waited until the EMT's arrived.

* * *

At the hospital they both sat and waited for news on the unidentified man. Kate saw Josh walk by forgetting that the hospital they were at was the same one he worked at.

"Kate what are you doing here?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied.

"Hey Josh." Castle greeted.

"Hey Richard, how are you?" He said shaking his hand. "I bet you're ecstatic about the baby?"

"Why would I be ecstatic?" He asked sounding offended.

"Kate told me that…." He said looking over to Kate who looked guilty.

"Kate what is he talking about?" Caste asked sternly.

"You didn't tell him that you…." Josh asked her.

She shook her head quickly.

"I'll leave you two to talk." He said quickly leaving.

"Kate what is he talking about?" Castle asked again.

"I was going to tell you earlier but things just…."

"What is it?"

"I didn't have the abortion, I just kept thinking about my mom and dad and everything and I couldn't do it." She finally said.

He sat there silently for a moment, trying to take in the wonderful news he had received.

"Castle, say something."

He couldn't speak all he did was pull her into a hug. He was so happy she didn't go through with it; he was excited to be a father to a baby again.

"Josh didn't seem to upset…" He began.

"He was upset when I told him. He broke up with me and told me he couldn't raise another mans baby."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he said that he saw that you were a good father to Alexis and that he didn't want to replace the real father."

"God I think I'm in love with him now." He joked.

She gave a small laugh and then realized they were still hugging.

"I think we should stop hugging now." She said.

"Oh yeah. Sorry." He replied quickly releasing her. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Just my dad and Josh." She replied.

"When's the first appointment?"

"This Friday. You know you don't have to go right?"

"I want to go. Meredith barely let me go to any of her prenatal appointments."

"Okay, it's at 12:30pm."

"Thank you." He replied.

Kate was happy she told Rick, and she knew that he was happy. She saw how his face lit up when she told him she was keeping the baby.

So I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I'm so tired now. It's unbelievable how writing can tire a person out. I hope you guys aren't disappointed with Josh's reaction. I watched an interview and they were talking about how Josh is supposed to be very kind, understanding, and just an all-around good guy so I thought that his reaction would be like that. But you guys can look forward to Gina's reaction because it will be the polar opposite. The next chapter will be up later than usual because my fiancé and I are going to be splitting time between going to my parents for the holidays and his parents so I don't know when I'll have time to update. Plus I have a crazy work schedule due to the holidays so it might get crazy. Alright done talking/writing I'm ready to snuggle up in bed and sleep away this sickness! Please review and enjoy your day/night!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas (if you celebrate….) and New Year's…I know I did! Any who, this chapter was supposed to be up ages ago (by ages I meant before New Year's) but I had a dreadful case of writers block, then I decided to wait until a new episode of Castle came on so that I could find some inspiration. I definitely found it, yesterday's episode 'Nikki Heat' was awesome and it gave me so many great ideas. This chapter takes place a few days after the last chapter. Hope you enjoy and Happy 2011!

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Chapter 6:

The case was over. Luckily it hadn't taken long for them to solve it, now all that was left to do was paper work.

"So what time do you want to meet tomorrow?" Castle asked Kate.

"What?" She replied.

"For the appointment…." He reminded.

"Meet me at the hospital at noon."

He nodded and went back to the game on his iPhone. He was more than excited to go to the prenatal appointment, he wanted to see the baby and hear the heartbeat; which was something he rarely got to do when Meredith was pregnant with Alexis. Speaking of Alexis, he still hadn't told her, his mother, or Gina. He was sure that Alexis and Martha would understand, they loved Kate and always tried to push him towards her. It was Gina he was worried about. He could vividly remember the fights they had while they were still married and all the projectile objects that would be launched towards his head by her.

"Castle!" He heard someone snap.

"Hmm?" He asked in confusion.

"I've called your name 20 times already….you can go home now." Kate replied.

"No way, I know that you're probably going to be here until midnight if I leave."

"I don't have much paper work left and I have the weekend off. You can go home."

He did as he was told and picked up his coat. He went back to thinking about how he would tell Gina, Alexis, and his mother. He knew that tomorrow would be a good day to tell them, he would know the due date and how far along Kate was too.

* * *

The next day Kate woke up with nerves. She had never been this nervous before but she knew it was all because of the appointment today. She knew that this appointment would make this pregnancy even more real; she'd get to hear the heartbeat, she find out her due date, and maybe she'd even get to see the baby. The precinct still didn't know about her pregnancy, she made Castle swear on their partnership that he wouldn't tell a soul about it until she was ready. She knew that she could get a few more cases in before she was sent to desk duty. She got up and got ready for her day and hoped for the best.

When she arrived at the hospital she noticed she was very early. She was told to arrive at least an hour ahead. When she walked into the waiting area it was deserted, all the nurses and doctors in the ward had taken their break leaving her to sit alone and wait. By noon she was greeted by the receptionist who had returned to her desk. She filled out paperwork and waited for her turn.

"Hey Kate." Castle greeted taking a seat by her.

"Castle, you're here." She replied in surprise.

"Of course I am. Did you think that I would forget about it?"

She shrugged. She really thought that he would forget about the appointment as easily as he forgot the rules while they had a case but apparently it wasn't the same today.

They waited until 12:40; every patient had walked in and out of the room, everyone except her.

"Kate Beckett." The nurse called out.

Kate stood up and made her way to the door. She felt Castle following her, she turned around wanting to say something but she knew that he was stubborn and he would not want to wait in the waiting room.

"Room 6, the LPN will with you shortly." The nurse said.

They waited in the room for another fifteen minutes until a woman walked in.

"Hello. I'm Janice Lombardo, I'm the LPN. You must be Kate Beckett." She said with an outstretched hand.

"Yes, I am." She replied. She heard Castle clear his throat. "And this is Rick, my partner."

"Pleased to meet you." She said shaking his hand as well. "Alright, I'm going to check your blood pressure, heart rate and then I'll ask you a few questions."

She nodded and took off her Jacket.

After the basic checkup was finished and the questions were asked they were left alone again to wait for the doctor. They waited twenty minutes for the doctor before the door knob turned.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Willard." The man said. "Nurse Lombardo filled me in on everything. Now what I need you to do is to lie back on the table and lift your shirt."

Kate nodded and did as she was told. Her stomach was still flat as it was before; she hoped it would stay that way for a while.

Dr. Willard measured her stomach and then pulled out a Doppler to listen to the heart beat. He began moving the Doppler around trying to find the heart beat but wasn't able to.

"I think we're going to have to give you a trans-vaginal ultrasound, because I can't seem to find the heart beat." He explained. "Please move to room eight and we'll continue there."

They gathered there things and moved two rooms over.

"Alright Detective, I'm going to have you change into this hospital gown. You may leave your shirt but remove your pants and underwear. I'll be outside, give a knock on the door when you're done." He handed her the gown and left the room.

Castle sat on the chair until he noticed that Kate was staring at him.

"What?"

"Castle, you're still in the room."

"So…." He asked. "I've already seen you naked, come on?"

She still didn't budge. He got up and exited the room too.

"What are you doing out here?" Dr. Willard asked. "Aren't you the father of the baby?"

"It's complicated." Was all Castle that could say.

Dr. Willard nodded and gave him a strange look. They finally heard the knock and went back into the room.

The ultrasound was uncomfortable. It wasn't every day that you had your legs in stirrups while your partner sat by your side.

The doctor moved around the transducer a little until a picture showed up on the screen. Both Kate and Rick were stunned; this definitely made the pregnancy more real.

"By the measurements, I'd say that you're six weeks and 3 days along." Dr. Willard said. He then switched to record the heartbeat. "The heartbeat is at 116 bpm which is perfectly healthy."

After hearing the heartbeat both were speechless. They were going to be parents.

"I'm going to let you get dressed now. When I come back we'll talk further."

After Dr. Willard and Castle left the room all Kate could think about was what had just happened. She had just seen and heard her baby. Even though it didn't look like a baby yet she knew that it was still her baby. When she was done she gave a knock on the door and watched as Dr. Willard and a stunned looking Castle walked in.

"I've determined your due date and I've written you a prescription for prenatal vitamins." Dr. Willard said. "Your due date is August 23rd. Here is your prescription and here are your ultrasound photos." He said handing her various pieces of paper. "Please get the prescription filled immediately and please set an appointment for your 10-11 week check up with Marty, the receptionist."

They shook hands and were on their way. She had never seen Castle this silent before; it scared her a little bit not knowing what was rushing through his mind.

"Castle, are you okay?" She asked as they walked out of the hospital.

"Hmmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Just in a bit of shock."

"You're telling me." She replied. "That was really crazy."

He nodded in agreement. "Kate, is it okay if I take one of the pictures?"

"Yeah, it's your child too." She replied. She reached in to her folder and pulled out two pictures. "Which one do you want?"

He looked at both of them closely. "I'll take the one with the heart beat recording, and I'll let you keep the clear one."

"Thanks Castle." She replied.

They both went their separate ways for the day.

* * *

When Castle came home he immediately went into his office and shut the door. He sat at his desk and looked at the ultrasound photo over and over again. He was excited to be a father again. He heard a knock at the door and quickly put the photo away.

"Come in." He said.

"Hey kiddo, where have you been all day." Martha asked.

"Nowhere really, went down to the precinct and said hi to the guys."

"Really? Because I went down to the precinct and I didn't see any of the detectives there." She replied. "Son would you like to tell me what's really going on?"

"Nothing's going on mother." He lied.

"Richard there's no need for you to lie. I've seen you lately; you've kept to yourself and locked yourself in this office. Alexis and I are beginning to worry."

He sighed. He knew that he needed to tell her, she was his mother for god's sake.

"You're right mother; I have been a little off lately." He replied. "This is why." He pulled the desk drawer open and pulled out the ultrasound photo and handed it to her.

"Gina's pregnant?" She asked.

"Not exactly."

"What happened?"

"A few weeks ago Kate and I….."

"You got Detective Beckett pregnant!" She exclaimed.

He nodded, not sure of what else to say.

"Wow, well I'm not sure what to say…" She replied. "How far along is she?"

"Six weeks and 3 days. She's due August 23rd."

"Have you told Gina or Alexis?"

"You're the first person I've told actually."

"Thank you for telling me. Are you going to tell Alexis tonight?"

"I'm thinking I should; she's going to be a big sister, there's no way I can keep that from her."

"When are you going to tell Gina?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, she's coming home tomorrow night so I'm guessing I should call her then."

"I'll make sure to be out of the house, I'll take Alexis with me." She replied. "I remember what her anger was like."

"Thanks."

When Alexis came home he was nervous. He knew his daughter was rational and mature and would react to the news in a very adult manner but there was still a part of him who knew that she would be a little shocked and angered over this.

"So what did you need to talk to me about dad?" She asked taking a seat on the bar stool at the kitchen counter.

"I have some news. It's pretty big and I'm hoping you will be happy."

"What is it?"

"You're going to be a big sister." He began.

"Gina's pregnant?" Alexis interrupted.

"No…."

"Then who is?"

"Detective Beckett is." He replied pulling out the ultrasound to show her.

"When did this happen? How far along is she? When is she due?" Alexis started rambling.

"She's six weeks and 3 days; she's due August 23rd…."

"Who's due August 23rd?" He heard a voice say. He looked up to see Gina standing at the door.

"Gina I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow?"

"I came home early. Who's due August 23rd, because as far as I know I'm not."

"Detective Beckett is."

"And who's the father?"

He opened his mouth slightly but was interrupted.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed. "I knew that you would go behind and fuck some detective slut!"

"Don't call her that!" He shouted back.

"Don't tell me what to call her! You cheated and now you're having a kid with someone else! Do you know how embarrassing this is? I always knew that you had feelings for her but I never thought you'd act on them!" She yelled. "I thought I could trust you this time, but no you just had to break my trust again!"

"Break your trust! You cheated multiple time when were married!" He shouted.

"Don't bring that into this! You know what you did was wrong. I should have known you would have done this. Did you think I didn't notice how you pined for her over the summer?"

"I wasn't pining for her…"

"I can't even look at you right now! I'm leaving, and you know what? You and your bastard child along with your detective slut can go to hell!"

He watched her stomp out and slam the door behind her. He gave a short sigh of relief seeing that nothing in his loft or on his body was broken.

"That could've gone better." He sighed to himself. He saw Alexis still sitting at the kitchen counter looking a bit scared. "Sweetie are you alright."

"I'm fine, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Do you want to continue what we were talking about before…?"

Alexis nodded. "What's going to happen with you and Beckett?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well obviously you and Gina are over, and Kate is carrying your child."

"Right now I'm helping Kate in any way possible."

"So you're not together?" She replied sadly.

"No. I know how much you like her but think of it this way, she's still a part of our family somehow."

"You're right dad." Alexis replied. She knew that Kate and her dad were too scared to admit their feelings. As she hugged her dad and walked to her room she made a silent wish that both her dad and Kate could finally stop being scared and say that they loved each other.

Alrighty! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I definitely had a hard time with Gina's reaction but don't worry there will definitely be more with her. Next chapter should be up soon. Please review and enjoy your day/night!


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a little while but I ended up feeling a little lazy and forgot all about my writing. Anyway, who watched Castle this week? I must say I love Lanie and Esposito together. And I completely loved the Castle and Beckett scenes in this episode. This weeks episode was probably one of the best I've seen. What are your opinions? Okay so I've decided I will try and update once a week; it may not seem like much but I want to use some ideas and interactions between characters from the show and the current season. Some things will obviously be changed due to inconsistencies with this story and the episodes but it will definitely include quotes that I loved from each episode. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 7:

It had been one week since he told Alexis, Gina and his mother about Kate's pregnancy. His mother and Alexis were excited about the baby and were starting to prepare for everything. Gina on the other hand was still upset and he understood why. They hadn't discussed their relationship at all and they hadn't spoken since the fight but he knew it was most likely over. He tried to focus his time and energy on the Nikki Heat movie. The actress chosen to play Nikki, Natalie Rhodes had come to New York to shadow Kate so that she could make the role truthful. In the beginning he didn't like her; she never bothered to read Heat Wave which ticked him off and plus she was taking up his time with Kate. But slowly she had grown on him; she was a very dedicated actress and she took her job seriously. She even began reading Heat Wave.

When he arrived at the precinct he had his coffee and Kate's decaf in hand. He noticed that Natalie was dressed in clothes similar to Kate's and was studying the mood board the way Kate had. He could tell that Kate seemed somewhat uncomfortable but when Natalie took her coffee he saw that she was pissed.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Kate asked him.

"Sure."

She linked her arm through his and pulled him into the other room.

"She took my coffee Castle!" She said as soon as they were in the room. She was clearly upset about not having her coffee.

"It's just coffee…"

"Then what's next, my soul?" She quipped. "Everything I do, she does. Even when I'm thinking I can feel her in my head like some kind of brain eating parasite from one of her movies."

"She's a dedicated actress, she just wants to do a good job" Castle replied.

Kate wanted to start crying. She was upset about Natalie taking over her life but with the added pregnancy hormones she was a wreck. When she saw Natalie take her coffee she had the deep urge to yell at her. And now she wanted to cry because Castle was defending her double. Luckily Ryan had come in just in time before she could start her crying/yelling combination at Castle. She tried to calm down so that she could focus on the case, but it was difficult when the excessive hormones affected the way you think and the way you react to different situations.

Later that night it didn't get any better. While trying to talk to Castle about a new suspect for the case Natalie walked in looking exactly like her.

"Just like I dreamed it!" Castle sighed when he saw Natalie.

She instantly turned to Castle and could see he was mesmerized.

"Did I say that out loud?" He asked.

"Here you go Beckett." Officer Velasquez said handing a file to Natalie.

"Thanks Johnson." Natalie answered. "It's Johnson isn't it?"

Kate pulled the file out of Natalie's hands and said "It's Velasquez, and you are not me!"

"No." She replied moving closer to Castle. "But I'm getting warmer."

"You certainly are." Castle responded in a faraway voice.

"Okay, so the word's out on Greta, we're already tracking Dukes credit cards." Kate said trying to keep her emotions under control. "Why don't we just call it a night?" She suggested to Natalie.

"What? But it's so early!" Natalie replied clearly disappointed.

"Yeah!" Castle agreed.

"Yeah, well it's a high stress job and I wouldn't want anyone to get burned out." She lied.

"You're right; I'll go pack up my things." Natalie agreed.

As soon as Natalie was out of the room Kate instantly shut the door.

"You cannot tell me that that is normal!" She whispered.

"She's just committed to the role." Castle defended Natalie yet again. "You should be flattered." He continued as he walked out the door.

"Yeah, sure 'til she steals my baby and kills me in my sleep!" Kate said to herself. She couldn't believe that Castle was taking Natalie's side; he was her partner, her friend, and also the father of her unborn child, he should have been on her side.

Once she had calmed herself down she went back out to her desk to pack up. She heard a crash and saw Castle and Natalie in the elevator kissing. Part of her broke, she really wanted to start yelling now. _'How could he betray me like that?' _She thought. She calmed herself down enough to get out of the precinct and home without breaking something, yelling, or injuring someone. She decided to take a nice long bath to relax and de-stress from this week. After her bath she felt a little more at ease. She started working on the case again and began to wonder what Castle and Natalie were doing at this moment.

* * *

Rick came home exhausted. Though his day started out great it ended strange and uncomfortable. Natalie had kissed him in the elevator and suggested that they carry on at her hotel. He politely declined her offer and ended up in the longest elevator ride of his life. He tried making small talk afterwards but once you decline a beautiful woman's offer of sex it was impossible to ever feel at ease and friendly with that person.

"Dad, are you okay?" Alexis asked him when he entered through the door.

"I'm fine sweetie. How was school?"

"It was fine. I got an A on my physics mid-term!"

"That's wonderful! I wonder whose brains you received…."

She rolled her eyes and gave her dad a hug. "How's Detective Beckett?"

"She's doing well. She's just a little annoyed about Natalie shadowing her."

"I thought that she invited her to shadow?"

"She did, but Natalie's a very dedicated actress and I guess some of her methods are starting to freak her out."

"That's understandable. I would hate it if something like that happened to me." Alexis replied.

"Alright, enough case talk. What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know, I was thinking we could maybe have spaghetti…"

"Sounds great, I'll start chopping tomatoes you start boiling water!"

* * *

The next morning Castle arrived with two cups in hand.

"Hey, good morning detective!" He greeted cheerfully

She looked up at him and he saw that she wasn't too happy.

"Is that for me or for the fictional version of me or have you already taken care of her this morning?" She asked sarcastically.

He looked at her in confusion and saw her walk away with her coffee. He decided to back off seeing as she was angry with him already.

Kate was on her way to her desk when she saw Natalie walking over to her.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked when she arrived to her side.

"Sure." Kate replied shortly and took a gulp of her coffee

Natalie sat down in Castles normal spot and asked "Is Castle gay?"

The question caused her to choke and spit out her coffee. "I'm sorry, what? No,no!" She answered. He definitely wasn't gay.

"Then you two are an item, but you're sworn to secrecy. Right?" She asked.

"No, we are not an item. Why?"

Natalie sighed. "Last night I invited him back to my place and he said something to me that I've never heard from a man before."

"What?"

"No…" Natalie replied.

"No?" Kate asked part of her jumping in relief.

"I don't get it?" She began. "He's into you, but you're determined to not give into these feelings that you clearly have for him, so he fantasizes about you through his writing…"

All Kate could do was stare, Castle did not have feelings for her and she definitely didn't have feelings for him.

"….It's literally verbal masturbation!" She whispered.

"Uhm, wha…okay. So what does all this have to do with me?" She asked

"I am not wearing this getup for my health!" Natalie said. "You're Nikki Heat, He's Jameson Rook. I need to sleep with him in the name of character research." She explained. "Can you talk to him?"

"And say what?"

"I don't know; give him permission or something…"

She took a breath and tried to say something reasonable, but she couldn't find the words.

"I need to go…." She began. "Over there." She pointed away from her desk. She grabbed her coffee and walked away. She was glad that castle hadn't slept with Natalie but the conversation she just had made her realize that Natalie Rhodes was a bit crazy.

"Wow." She muttered to herself when she was far away enough from Natalie. "Just wow…"

She continued doing her work and tried to rid the conversation from her mind. Natalie was getting on her nerves. Perhaps it was the hormones that were making her more irritable but she really wanted Natalie to leave so that she could finally have peace.

About an hour later she was hiding so that she could get away from Natalie. She wasn't even there for half the day and Natalie had begun imitating everything she did. She was like an annoying child who mimicked her just to see her reaction. Currently she was watching Natalie at the murder board; she felt disgusted thinking of what she looked like while studying the board.

"Everything okay?" Castle asked stopping to see why Kate looked so upset.

"Do I really do that?" She asked.

"Yes, and it's adorable." He replied instantly.

"If it's so adorable why didn't you sleep with me?" She asked

Castle looked confused. They had obviously slept together otherwise she wouldn't have been pregnant with his child at the moment.

Before he could answer with a 'We already did.' She started to speak again.

"_Her_ me, not _me_ me." She replied.

"Oh, well a fictional character that I wrote based on you, played by Natalie Rhodes it's just way to meta." He replied.

_'What the hell is Meta?'_ She thought

"Besides, I've already had the real thing. It would be entirely too weird." He added.

"We should have a code word so we all know which Beckett to kill when her clone army attacks." Ryan said joining her and Castle.

"Unless we make a preemptive strike." Kate added.

"Get through to Jenny yet?" Castle asked.

"Still not picking up…" He replied.

"Don't worry you'll be laughing about it soon enough." Kate said.

"We are." Castle teased.

"Thanks." Ryan replied. "So I've been running through Stacy's client files. Three couples have filed for divorce within the last month. Can you believe that? You marry the love of your life and the next thing they're cheating on you…."

"Ryan!" Kate interrupted.

"Sorry. Anyways two of the guys have rock solid alibis for the time of Stacy's murder and the third divorce had nothing to do with cheating."

"What are you guys doing?" Esposito asked seeing his three friends gathered around.

"Hiding from creepy Beckett." Ryan stated.

"We're not hiding…Did you find anything on Greta Morgan?"

"Yeah, I found something very interesting at the Meritage Hotel." He replied.

"What?" She asked.

"Greta Morgan."

Finally they could get a break in the case so that they could finally solve it.

Greta Morgan was an uncooperative client. She was rude and wouldn't answer questions. Even after trying to make a deal with her she wouldn't budge. It wasn't until Natalie yelled at her that they finally got the two suspect names.

At the scene the suspect Scott Donner was a mess. He began to ramble mindlessly about how his life would be ruined. He even pulled out a gun and pointed it towards Kate scaring both of them. In the end it was Natalie who saved them by using the line used in her screen test.

* * *

After Natalie left everything was back to normal, well as normal as it could get.

"Hey." Jenny greeted when she walked into the precinct.

"Hey." Kate and Castle replied.

"Jenny, I'm so glad to see you!" Ryan exclaimed hugging her as soon as he saw her.

"I just wanted to tell you all that I'm sorry for…I made a scene." She apologized.

"Jenny, it's okay." He assured.

"No, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me Kevin, I want you to know that I trust you and love you. I'm sorry."

"No I…." Ryan turned around and saw that Esposito was standing right behind him.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry." He began after Esposito walked away. "I lied to you but I'm about to set the record straight because you deserve the truth. So wait here for one second."

Kate, Castle, and Esposito were entrapped in the situation.

"What is he doing?" Castle asked.

"Shhhh!" Kate replied.

He came back with the ring box hidden and went back to talking to her.

"I didn't play dart with Javier last night." He began. "I went to go see your parents because I had question I needed to ask." He got down on one knee and he saw her face light up. "Jennifer Scout Duffy-O'Malley will you make me the happiest guy in the world and marry me?" He asked popping open the ring box.

"Oh my god." Jenny cried. "Yes. Yes, yes!"

Kevin smiled and put the ring on her finger while the rest of the precinct applauded.

"That was big!" Castle exclaimed.

"Oh, and intimate!" Kate said with tears in her eyes.

They all went and congratulated the happy couple.

"Are you still crying?" Castle asked after Jenny and Ryan had already left.

"Shut up, it's your fault."

"How is it my fault?" He asked.

"Well maybe if I wasn't….then I wouldn't have all these excessive hormones." She replied.

"Fine, I'll take the blame but just because you're carrying my child." He replied.

"Not so loud!" She chastised. "I don't want anyone to know yet."

"I wasn't even loud. And you need to tell soon, after what happened today I'm not sure I want you in the field anymore."

"Everything turned out fine. I'm fine, the baby's fine, and everything's fine. And you need to stop worrying; I'll make sure to be safe next time."

"Just promise me you'll tell soon."

"We've already talked about this, I'm not telling until I'm in my second trimester."

"That's five weeks away; we'll have plenty of other cases, which means plenty more danger. I don't want you to be at risk!"

"Castle, I know you don't want me at risk but I just want to get as much work as I possibly can before I get put on desk duty and maternity leave."

"Fine, but I'm going with you everywhere you go!"

"You already do."

"Oh, yeah."

She slightly smiled at his worry for her. It gave her comfort to see him worried over her, she that she and the baby would be taken care of when it came to Castle.

Hope you guys enjoyed that! I loved episode 11, I thought that Natalie Rhodes was a great addition to the cast for the episode. I completely cried when Ryan proposed to Jenny which made me receive strange looks from my fiancé. If you guys want to know how he proposed I'll tell you right now. We were in our school parking lot walking to our car and go home for the day when he got down on his knee and proposed. It was definitely big and intimate to me and I'll definitely remember it forever! Cue the awwws LOL. Please review and enjoy your day/night.


	8. Authors Note!

Hello everyone! I'm sorry to disappoint you all with an author's note but unfortunately I have to. So the reason why I haven't updated One More Button and It's Definitely Love is because I started school last Tuesday and it has been hectic! I hate using school as an excuse or actually using excuses to why I'm not writing but sadly school has taken over my life. Also I just got a second job so that I can get a new car so that's taking up even more of my time. Basically what I'm saying is that updating my stories is going to vary on how much time I have between classes, homework, and 2 jobs. I love all the feedback I'm getting from you readers and I would love to continue writing every single day but this past week after I've come home from work and school all I want to do is eat something and snuggle with my fiancé; We barely have time to see each other because of school and work so all we've been doing after our days are over is just hang out with each other. I hope you all aren't upset about this and that you understand. Hopefully I can have a chapter written and posted by next week or maybe I'll be sly and sneaky and write both stories while my professors are lecturing…..Have a great day/night!


	9. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! I know it's been quite a while since I've updated but I've been pretty busy with school and I've had some major writers block with this story. Because of my writers block I decided to step away from this story for a little bit and write another. I started to work on my Criminal Minds story and started a songfic series for Gilmore Girls. If any of you like either one of these please go ahead and read and review. Okay shameless plug time over! I've decided that I'm going to skip 'Poof, you're dead.' And after this chapter I'm going to go off on my own and not follow the season 3 plot line. This is mostly because there are a lot of things that wouldn't make sense if I followed the current plot line. Anyways I hope you enjoy it!

One More Button

Chapter 8:

Kate woke up to a phone call. It was a call from the detective that worked her mother's case, he wanted to meet up and talk to her about it. Immediately after she hung up she left her apartment so that she could find Castle.

"Beckett." He greeted as he opened his door.

"Hey." She replied quietly.

"Come on in." He offered. She hadn't been by his apartment in a long time.

"Can we talk for a second?" She asked. Her face was looked distraught. He was worried that something was wrong with the baby or worse something was wrong with her.

"Is it the baby?" He asked in worry.

"No. I got a call this morning from John Raglan; he was the lead detective on my mom's case. He wants to meet with me to talk about the case." She explained. "I was wondering if you would come with me."

Rick was more than willing to go with Kate to meet John Raglan. He wanted Kate to have closure on her mother's case. They left for the coffee shop where they finally got to see the much older John Raglan.

"Lady, what part of no cops didn't you understand?" Raglan muttered.

"He's not a cop." She replied.

"Well who the hell is he then?"

"Someone I trust." Kate replied. She really did trust Castle; he was always there for her even when she didn't want him to be. She knew that he would always have her back. "Tell me what I don't know about my mom's murder."

"Everybody drinks their coffee out of cardboard cups these days…Or those plastic travel mugs, but this, there's something about the way ceramic warms your hands. It's weird, the things you notice." Raglan began.

Rick could tell that Raglan was stalling. Everyone could tell Raglan was stalling. The information that he knew could possibly be dangerous for all of them.

"I just got the long face from the doc, Lymphoma." He sighed. "Six months."

"Sorry to hear about that." Kate offered.

"Every year around the holidays they run that Christmas Carol on local TV, when I was a kid I remember Jacob Marley scared the hell outta me, forced to drag that chain around in the next world…"

"I wore the chain I forged in life." Rick said.

"I made it link by link." Raglan finished. His eyes moved to Kate's direction. "I hid a lot of sins behind my badge, and now I gotta carry them. But your mother's case, that one weighs a ton…"

"Why, because you wrote it off as random gang violence when you knew it wasn't?"

"I did what I was told, and I kept quiet because I was afraid." He admitted. "About a year ago there was a hostage standoff at your precinct; you killed a hit man named Dick Coonan, it was a big deal in the papers, people noticed.

"Who hired Coonan to kill my mom?"

"You need some context here, this thing started nineteen years ago back before I ever knew who Johanna Beckett was. Nineteen years ago I….I made a bad mistake, and that started the dominoes falling, and one of them was your mom."

All of a sudden Raglans coffee mug exploded sending coffee everywhere.

"Everybody on the ground now!" Kate shouted and pulled out her gun. She saw a bullet hole in the window across from where Raglan sat. "Back away from the windows, away from the windows!"

Castle looked over and saw blood on Kate's shirt and instantly panicked.

"Kate you're hit!" He began.

"It's fine it's not my blood." She assured.

Some relief flooded Rick knowing that Kate was not shot but there was still enough panic in knowing that she was close enough to being killed. Rick went over to Raglans body; he was bleeding profusely and near death. He grabbed a rag and tried to stop the bleeding while Kate called into the precinct.

Kate was angry and saddened that one of her only chances of finding her mother's murderer was gone. She was so close to knowing why anyone would kill Johanna Beckett and now she was back to square one. She could see in Montgomery's eyes that he was disappointed that she had come down here without back up but he knew that she needed to work this case.

"Hey, you good?" She asked Castle who was now wiping the blood from his hands.

"Yeah, I think I got it all off my hands." He replied with a far way look.

"It's different when it happens right in front of you. You're close enough to watch the lights go out."

"Yeah, when I saw the blood on your shirt I thought you'd been shot." He admitted.

Kate swallowed in sadness and guilt. She had endangered the Castle's life as well as their child life.

"Umm, I'm gonna go to the twelfth, how about I drop you off at your place?"

"Not a chance." He replied. There was no way that he was leaving her alone to handle this difficult and dangerous situation.

The car ride was quiet and slow. Rick knew he needed to say something to her about how she had put her and their childs life at risk earlier and that he didn't want her working the case, but he also knew that Kate Beckett was a force to be reckoned with when it came to her job.

"Castle, what's the matter?" She asked noticing his demeanor.

"What?"

"You've got that faraway look." She replied. "I know something's wrong, what is it?"

"When I heard the shot and saw the blood on your shirt I was certain that you were…." He began. "Kate I don't think you should be this close to the case…"

"Castle, I'm alright, so is the baby. You know that I have to work this case, I need to." She replied.

"I can't handle the fact that you're putting your life and our childs life at risk." He said. "If I lost either…." He started to say but stopped.

The rest of the car ride was silent. Rick knew that Kate wouldn't stop working on the case and Kate knew that Rick wouldn't stop pestering her about her and the baby's safety. When they arrived at the precinct they began working on the case.

* * *

Kate knew Castle was right. This case was too dangerous now that she was pregnant. She was too emotionally involved with this and it had caused her to physically attack a suspect. Not only could she have gotten sued but she endangered her childs life. After Montgomery took her off the case, a part of her felt relieved that she could continue keeping her child safe, while the other part was angered that she wasn't able to solve her mother's murder.

Castle sat in his loft and tried hard to not think of his day. Today his life, Kate's life and their childs life could have been lost. He poured himself a drink and tried to soothe his day away.

"What if it had been you?" Martha asked.

"I didn't know you were home."

"I heard about the shooting on the news…" Martha replied. "It could've been you, you know that don't you?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine, it wasn't me"

"Richard, this isn't one of your books, you don't know the ending. You were just lucky yesterday."

"You're over-reacting mother." He said calmly. He knew she wasn't overreacting, seeing Kate with blood on her top had frightened him. If he had lost her or their child he knew that it would wreck him. "Where is this coming from?"

"How the hell can you ask me that? Think about how much you love Alexis, that is how much I love you. Don't you dare ask me where this is coming from! You have gotten through most of your life on your wit and charm and no small amount of talent, but that is the real world out there and you can't charm your way out of a bullet."

"You think I should quit?" He asked.

"I think you should be honest with yourself about why you're doing this. You have written 22 novels before you met her and you didn't need to spend every day at a police station in order to finish them."

"It's not about the books anymore." Rick admitted. "I think I may be in love with her, I don't know. And now that we're having a child together I feel that much more connected to her. I don't want to leave her alone."

"Have you told her?"

Rick shook his head. "I can't, this situation with the new baby has made our relationship strange. I want to be closer to her; she's carrying our child for goodness sake. But she's keeping me at arm's length. "

"You need to go see her, I'm certain that she needs someone to keep her company especially now."

"Thanks mother." Rick replied. He gave Martha a hug and a kiss and made his way out of the loft.

* * *

Kate sat in tears on her couch. She had been taken off the case that she had been working on for her whole career and she had endangered Castle's life and their childs life.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to her flat belly. "I'll never put you in danger ever again!"

She heard a knock at the door and was brought out of her trance.

"Hey Castle." She greeted when she opened the door.

"Hey." He replied. "I bought you some…" He said pulling out flowers from behind his back. "I just thought that after everything you might want…Here." He handed her the bouquet.

"Thank you, that's really sweet. You want to come in?"

"Sure." He replied. He hadn't been in her apartment since the night they created their unborn child. "You know I was thinking on the way over here, all the best cops Dirty Harry, Cobra, the guy from Police Academy who makes the helicopter noise, they all have one thing in common."

"Plucky side-kick?"

"That and they do their very best work after they've been booted of the case."

"Is that what you came all the way over here to tell me?"

"Montgomery booted us off the Raglan murder but he didn't say anything about your mothers' case did he?" He said. "Here's my plan, I sneak back in to the station wearing a hat, Montgomery always takes a break 15 minutes after the hour, get your mothers file and…what?"

Kate looked up at him and smiled. She knew that he'd always have her back regardless of the situation.

"Come on Castle, I gotta show you something." She pulled open her window to show him that she had been working the case for months now.

"You know I sometimes forget that you live with this every day. When did you start?"

"Over the summer when you were in the Hamptons."

"And how far have you gotten?"

"Well aside from my mom there's also Diane Cavanaugh, Jennifer Stewart. They volunteered for her from time to time for the Justice Initiative. And the fourth victim was Scott Murray he was a document clerk at the courthouse. You know Castle up until today I'd always run this on the theory that they got killed because of a legal case they were working on, my mom requested a court file just before she was murdered. That file went missing."

"Well your mom had personal papers, an appointment book. Something that could tell you what she was working on before she died."

"No I went through all of those nine years ago, there's nothing."

"Yeah well a lot's happened since then, maybe you missed something."

They decided to look through some appointment books to try and see if she had missed anything.

"There's nothing in her appointment books, nothing that I can make sense of anyway. She had her own system, my dad and I could never figure it out."

"Aww you were adorable." Rick complimented a picture he flipped too. "Did your mom take these?"

"Yeah about three weeks before she died."

"Aww I don't get to see you in action?" He complained over the photos.

"Trust me Castle it was not pretty!"

"Well now I have to see it!" He teased. He held up the photo negatives and tried to find any rogue ice skating shots. "Hmmm." He mumbled as he began to rustle with the photos.

"What?"

"There are 24 exposures on this roll, but there are only 20 pictures."

"What is it?"

"An empty street?" He guessed.

They uploaded the pictures to her laptop and found that the pictures were where Johanna Beckett had been murdered. Rick had offered to go the precinct to pick up archived files and left her alone to contemplate what they had just learned.

While he was gone Kate received a visit from Captain Montgomery. Apparently the sniper had been following her since Raglans murder. He put a security detail on her and now her every move was being watched.

* * *

The next day Kate was greeted at her door by Castle. He was still adamant about helping her work the case and actually solve it this time.

"Castle there's something I need you to do…" She said.

"Name it."

"Go home."

"Forget it; fear does not exist in this dojo."

"Look I signed up for this when I put this badge on, you didn't. It's not your fight."

"The hell it isn't. Running around you just to annoy you, I don't drive out to murder scenes in the middle of the night to satisfy some morbid curiosity. If that's all this was I would've quit a long time ago."

"Well then why do you keep coming back Rick?"

He was so close to saying it, he wanted to but he was scared. "Look I may not have a badge, unless you count the chocolate one Alexis gave me for my birthday but I'll tell you this, like it or not I'm your plucky side-kick."

"Plucky side-kick always gets killed."

"Partner then." He replied. "Kate, I'm your partner through and through. No matter what you'll get rid of me that easily."

Kate smiled. "Okay what did you find?"

They discussed the case and how it had a mob connection 19 years ago and someone else had gotten murdered in the exact same alleyway. They went to a prison and interviewed one of the men associated with that murder and had gotten vital information on the case. They went to the precinct and gave their information to Ryan, Esposito and Montgomery. Afterwards they had gotten some information on a possible connection to their primary suspect in the Raglan murder. Kate and Rick went to the house to find that Jolene Granger was murdered. Kate called Esposito about the murder, as she was about to hang up she heard an explosion. Ryan and Esposito were now in big trouble.

They had been captured by Lockwood and were practically untraceable. Thankfully they had found a link to Lockwood and were very close to finding out where they were.

At the warehouse where they were being held Rick and Kate watched the guard as he watched for any signs of cops or intruders. Kate and Rick had to come up with a diversion. Castles first idea was to act like a drunken couple so that they could get passed the guard.

They both got out of the car and staggered and giggled as they walked. Kate saw that the guard noticed them and he wasn't exactly buying their act.

"He's not buying it Castle." She whispered to him. She immediately went for her gun but was stop by his hand. He grabbed her by the head and paused before he leaned in to kiss her. She pulled away quickly but then noticed that the guard was close by and went back in to kiss him. As soon as the guard turned around she pulled away from Castle and knocked the guard out.

"That was amazing!" Rick stated. "The way you knocked him out I mean." He quickly covered up. In truth he thought that both the kiss and the knock out were amazing.

"Let's go…" Kate ordered. "Yeah." She couldn't believe that she had kissed Castle. The last time they had kissed it led to them conceiving a child, but she couldn't think about that now. Her main focus was to get Ryan and Esposito out alive.

Kate and Rick had entered the warehouse just in time. One of the men had pulled out a gun and was about to shoot Ryan in the kneecaps. Kate started firing rounds at all the men. Castle hid in the shadows and watched as Kate and the men fired back and forth. He noticed that Kate had taken out everyone except for one man. As Kate was reloading her gun he saw Lockwood sneak up on her; he was ready to fire and kill both her and their child. Out of instinct Castle snuck around and managed to tackle Lockwood to the ground before he could fire a shot towards Kate. He began punching him until he was knocked out.

"You okay?" Kate asked as she walked over to Rick.

"Huh?" He looked up and saw that Kate was still alive and that Lockwood was on the ground knocked out. "Never better."

* * *

A little later the EMS came and wrapped up Castle's hand.

"Hey there Chuck Norris." She teased. "How's the hand?"

"Excruciating." He said as he watched her rewrap his hand. "How's Ryan and Esposito?"

"Mild hypothermia, wounded pride." She quipped. "Guess which one will heal first?"

He chuckled slightly and looked up at her.

"Thank you, for having my back in there."

"Always." He replied.

"Listen Castle, this whole case made me realize that I can't keep doing this." She began. "I have a dangerous job and now I have someone other than myself to worry about. Tomorrow, I'm going to tell Captain Montgomery about my pregnancy and tell him to take me out of the field."

"Are you sure?"

"If you hadn't tackled Lockwood back there both our child and I would have been dead, I can't keep taking risks like that." She responded. "I know I was going to wait until I was 13 weeks along but I think that 9 weeks is just enough time to tell people."

"Good. I'm glad; I couldn't deal with losing either one of you." He replied. "Do you want me to go in with you when you tell him?"

"It's alright. I think this is something I need to tell him on my own."

Even though she was going to tell her co-workers that she was pregnant, she wasn't ready to tell them all who she was pregnant by.

"I understand." He replied knowing what she meant. He was upset that he would have to keep his part of the situation a secret, but he was relieved that Kate and the baby would no longer be in immediate danger.

A bit of a sappy ending I know but I couldn't help it. I know that this chapter is a long one but since I haven't updated in a while I decided to put a lot in. Plus there were so many great scenes in here that I just had to keep in. So now that this chapter is finished it's now time for me to go off on my own and brainstorm what I can put into this story. I'm really excited to put in my own ideas and I hope that it works out well. Please review and enjoy your Wednesday!


	10. Chapter 9

Hey everyone! This chapter is going to be the first of my endeavors in doing my own plots for Castle. I hope you'll all enjoy!

Chapter 9:

Kate Beckett walked into the precinct with a tremendous weight on her shoulders. Today was the day she was finally telling Captain Montgomery that she was pregnant. After last weeks endeavors she knew she couldn't keep putting her child in harms way. It had taken her a week to finally build up the courage to finally come out with her pregnancy but it was better to do it now rather than wait until she went into labor.

"Captain, may speak with you for a moment?" She asked standing in his doorway.

"Of course detective, close the door and have a seat." He answered. "So what is you need to talk to me about?"

"I'm going to need to stop going into the field as much." She began. "I can still go to the crime scenes, and interview the families, and even do interrogations, but I can't go after suspects anymore, at least not for a while."

"Okay, I need to ask you why?"

"I'm pregnant, about 10 weeks." She replied.

"Ten weeks, you should've come to tell me sooner."

"I know, I wanted to get as much work as I could before my second trimester."

"What made you come in sooner?"

"Last weeks case, if it wasn't for Castle I would've been shot."

"Well, thank you for telling me now. I'll let Ryan and Esposito know of what's going on."

"Thank you sir." She stood up and made her way to the door.

"Oh, and Beckett…"

"Yes sir?"

"Congratulations, tell Dr. Davidson I say congratulations."

_'That's right; everyone thinks that Josh is the father.'_ She thought.

"I'll tell him you said that." She smiled. "Thanks."

By midday all her co-workers knew of her pregnancy.

"Beckett." She answered her ringing phone.

"Girl, why didn't you tell me that you had a bun in the oven?" Lanie squealed over the phone.

"Lanie, who told you about the….?"

"Javier…I mean Esposito. He called me after he heard."

"Well, you can tell your boyfriend that I'm going to kill him."

"Honey, you're lucky you're pregnant because that means I won't have to kill you for not telling ME the news first!"

"I'm sorry Lanie; I just wanted to wait until my second trimester before I could blurt everything out."

"How did writer boy take it?" Lanie asked.

_'Fine, seeing as he's the father.'_ She thought.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him today; it is a paperwork day, which means thankfully Castle is nowhere in sight." She lied.

"Oh. So is Josh excited?"

"Yeah, he sure is." She lied again. In truth the last time she had spoken to Josh was before he left for Africa. "Listen Lanie, I've really got to get back to this paperwork."

"Okay girl, but we're going to talk some more about this later."

"Okay, by Lanie."

* * *

The next day Castle walked in to the precinct with his usual two cups of coffee; one decaf and one regular.

"Oh, hey Castle." Ryan greeted. "I wouldn't bring that coffee for Beckett anymore…."

"Huh?"

"Oh man, I forgot you still haven't heard." Ryan remembered. "Beckett's got a bun in the oven…"

"Did you really just say that man?" Esposito teased. "Why couldn't you just say that Beckett's pregnant?"

"I don't know? Why do you have to get on my back about everything I do or say?"

"Because you're always saying something stupid."

"Actually that's Castle…" Ryan said.

"You got a point man." Esposito agreed.

"Beckett's pregnant?" Castle asked hoping to god that he sounded oblivious.

"Yeah, we found out yesterday. The captain said that we were going to be pursuing and arresting the suspects more, and when we asked why he said that Beckett had a medical reason why and so we put two and two together, asked her and when she didn't deny it we got our answer." Ryan explained.

"Hmmm." Castle replied.

"Hmmm? That's all you've got to say man?" Esposito asked.

"I guess. There's not much else I can say." He replied. "Besides I know from experience, you shouldn't piss off a pregnant woman."

The two detectives shrugged as Castle walked towards Becketts desk.

"I see that tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum told you about…."

"Yeah, congratulations?" He replied not sure of what to say. He had already known of her pregnancy for about a month now, but for all intents and purposes he was supposed to be finding out now.

"Thanks." She replied with a slight smile. "Listen Castle, I've got a doctors appointment tomorrow at 3pm." Her voice dipped down to a whisper. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, that would be great!" He replied.

"Okay good."

An awkward silence filled the air as Kate worked and Rick played with his phone.

"You know, you didn't have to come in today." She broke the silence.

"I know. But, Alexis has school and Mother has her 'obligations'." He replied. "I figured it would do me some good to hang out with my favorite precinct."

"How nice of you Castle…"

"I know, I'm amazing." He quipped, earning him a Beckett eye roll.

* * *

The next day Kate sat in the hospital waiting room waiting for Castle to show up. It was 2:50 already and he hadn't even called.

He finally showed up at 3:10. Kate was still sitting in the waiting room even though her appointment was supposed to be at 3.

"Hey Beckett." He greeted.

"What the hell took you so long?" She snapped. "My appointment was supposed to be at three."

"It's 3:11 and you're still in the waiting room."

"Not the point, I could've been called in and you wouldn't have been here."

"So, you admit to wanting me here with you?" He teased.

"Well, this is your child too…I assume you'd want to know everything that's happening with him or her."

"Relax; of course I want to be here. Alexis just needed help with something and things ran a little over time."

"Kate Beckett?" The nurse called out.

Kate and Rick stood up and followed her to the room.

"Thanks for getting here."

"I said I'd be here." He replied simply.

The nurse took her back and took her vitals and weighed her. She had gained 2 pounds since her last visit.

Kate and Rick sat in the room diligently waiting for the doctor when he finally appeared.

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, it's nice seeing you two." Dr. Willard greeted. "So Detective, how have you been feeling lately?" He asked.

"A little tired and a little nauseous." She replied.

"That's all perfectly normal since you're still in your first trimester, that should start to clear up when you enter your 2nd trimester." He explained. "Have you thrown up at all?"

"No, I just feel a little queasy now and then; I think the worst symptom is that I can't get to sleep at night."

Castle turned to look at her. She had never once spoken to him about her symptoms. He was upset that she wasn't sharing with him; if she was queasy and had trouble sleeping he had the right to know. He was this child father after all.

"That's perfectly normal too." Dr. Willard replied. "How have you been eating lately?"

"I've been trying to eat as healthily as possible, but it's kind of hard with my job."

"Well, you better start. It's important for the fetus to be getting as many nutrients as possible. Speaking of your job, have you been taking it easy?"

"Yes, I actually was taken off the field yesterday."

"Good. Now that you're ten weeks you're less like to miscarry and the fetus is less likely to have any congenital malformations or physical birth defects. Also the fetus is in its fetal development stage. All the organs are developing rapidly, the intestines, the kidneys, the liver, and the brain are among the organs that are beginning to function." He explained.

Kate began to think of all the information that she didn't know about fetal development. She needed to stop by the book store and by some pregnancy books.

"Also, you need to think about your sleeping arrangements; you need to start sleeping on your left side so that the baby can get more oxygen. I suggest using a large body pillow to make sleeping more comfortable. Now, I need you to lift your shirt so that we can hear the heart beat." He said pulling out his Doppler.

She lifted her shirt to reveal a slightly more rounded belly. It was barely noticeable but she could tell.

Rick noticed as well. He saw the slight round bump towards the bottom of her abdomen. He knew that in a few weeks that it would grow rounder as the baby grew.

Dr. Willard turned the Doppler on and placed it on her belly and began to move it around. Pretty soon a strong heartbeat could be heard around the room.

"It seems as though the heart rate is 160 beats per minutes." He explained.

"Is that good?" Kate asked.

"Yes, that is perfectly healthy." He replied. "That's it for your appointment this month. Don't forget to set another one up for 14 or 15 weeks. Also you might want to start scheduling a 2d/3d/4d gender ultrasound pretty soon, those are pretty hard to find last minute."

"Thank you doctor."

"I'll see you two in four weeks." He said with a wave.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rick asked when they were leaving the hospital.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you tell me about your queasiness and lack of sleep?"

"I didn't think it mattered…"

"Kate, when I said I wanted to be involved I meant with everything, including what's going on with you."

"Fine, you want to know?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, where should I start?" She pretended to think. "I can't sleep at night, I can't go near any type of eggs without fear of vomiting, I've been getting nose bleeds like you wouldn't believe, I have to pee a lot more, I've been having really weird dreams, and my breasts are sore. Is that enough for you to know?" She snapped.

"Kate, I'm sorry you're upset, but please don't be mad at me for wanting to be involved."

"I'm not mad at you for wanting to be involved in this pregnancy, it's just I was so sure that I'd be doing this alone. It's weird having you around more."

"I understand, but I want to be involved and you can't get rid of me that easily."

"Lord knows I've tried." She quipped.

"Hahaha, very funny." He faked laughed. "Now what is this I've heard about trying to eat healthy?"

"I bought all these healthy foods and they've done nothing but sit in my fridge. I don't have any time to cook, especially with my schedule."

"Well, now maybe that you're not in the field anymore you'll have more time."

She shrugged. She doubted that she'd have more time.

"How about you join me and Alexis for dinner tonight?"

"I'm not sure; I don't want to intrude on your time together."

"Nonsense, Alexis loves you. Plus it'll give me some peace of mind in your eating habits."

"Fine, I could use some food."

"I'll call Alexis and tell her to set an extra plate." He said pulling out his cell phone.

That's all for tonight. The next chapter I'll put in what happened at the dinner and I'll probably add in a case too. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	11. Chapter 10

Finally I'm updating this story! I'm so sorry it took so long but I've just been slacking off. But, I'm back now and I'm ready to write and finish this story!

Chapter 10

Kate followed Castle up to his loft. She felt nervous, this was the first time that she was going to see his family since she found out that she was pregnant.

"Hi detective Beckett!" Alexis greeted as soon as she walked in.

"Hi Alexis. You may call me Kate you know?"

"Oh okay, hi Kate."

"How come I can't call you Kate?" Castle whined childishly.

"Because you already get on my nerves very easily." She snapped back.

"Dinner is almost ready; I made tri-color pasta with homemade tomato sauce."

"Thank you Alexis."

"It's no problem; I figured that you would need to eat healthy."

"Hello detective." Martha greeted.

"Hello Martha, and please call me Kate."

"Kate, I'm glad that you could join us tonight." Martha replied. "I hope my son hasn't been giving you too much of a hard time."

"Not any more than usual." She quipped.

"Hey, that's not nice." Castle said.

"Quiet Richard, you know that she's correct."

Kate laughed at Martha's comment.

They sat down to dinner 20 minutes later. The dinner was quiet and somewhat awkward. Alexis didn't know if she was allowed to speak or ask about the pregnancy so she kept her mouth shut. Martha on the other hand could see the awkwardness between her son and the detective and tried making conversation which ended up at a dead end.

* * *

"Thanks for having me over Castle." Kate said.

"Not a problem, you should come over more often." He replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Only if there's a case."

"Actually, I think I'll come in anyways to watch you and the guys do paper work."

"That's very sweet but you don't have to."

"What if I want to?" He asked. He didn't want to spend a day away from her.

"Castle please."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He apologized. "Do you want me to walk you to your car?"

"I'll be fine. Bye Castle."

"Bye." He replied with a wave.

* * *

The next day remained case-less. Esposito and Ryan sat at their desks and tossed a ball back and forth while Beckett organized her desk.

"Good morning!" Castle greeted as he walked in with his usual coffee cups.

"Castle?" Kate replied.

"That's no way to greet your favorite writer especially one who brings you coffee."

"Hey Castle, how come you never bring us coffee?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know what you guys like?" Castle lied.

"Black coffee." Esposito replied.

"Black, 2 sugars." Ryan added.

"Well, next time I'll have them."

"Good, we don't like being left out." Ryan said.

"Man, you sound like a needy chick when you say that." Esposito ragged.

"I do not! Castle do I sound like a needy chick?"

"A little, especially that last sentence."

Castle made his way to Kate's desk and took a seat at his usual spot.

"I thought I told you not to come if there was no case."

"Actually you didn't tell me to do anything. You suggested that I shouldn't come and I decided against it."

Kate rolled her eyes. She didn't know how Castle could act so normal especially in their situation. She expected the author to go silent and not speak as much when he found out. Hell she even hoped that he wouldn't come around and shadow her anymore. But she knew that he was a good father and would always look out for his children no matter what.

"Whatever Castle. Just sit and behave so that I can finish my work."

"What work? I don't see any files on your desk."

"It's a slow day alright!" She snapped.

"Easy, I wasn't trying to be smart or anything."

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little stressed out."

"Why don't I take you home, I'm sure the captain won't mind?"

"No Castle, I'm fine."

"No, you're not." She heard Montgomery say. "Take the day off, you need it."

"Sir, I'm fine."

"Beckett please, go home."

"We'll call if anything comes up, promise." Esposito said.

"Fine, I'll just grab my stuff and go."

Castle followed her as she got ready and then followed her home.

"You didn't have to see me off."

"I know I just wanted to make sure you got here safely."

"You need to stop treating me like glass."

"Kate, I'm not going to stop looking out for you." He sighed. "You're carrying our child, it's my job to keep you both safe."

"I'm safe being in my apartment alone."

"I never said you weren't."

"Okay, bye Castle. Go home, you should rest too."

"Are you sure you don't need me to get anything for you?"

"I'm fine, I'm probably just going to take a nap."

"How about food, you have to…"

"Eat healthy, I know. I've got some veggies and I still have some of the leftovers you gave me yesterday."

"Okay, bye then."

"Bye Castle."

She watched him leave and shut the door behind him. She knew that she should stop being so resistant but this was Richard Castle, known troublemaker. She didn't want to put her heart at risk when he found a new woman.

Short chapter I know, but it's two in the morning and I'm exhausted! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and enjoy your Thursday!


	12. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've updated. I feel so bad because I keep seeing all these great reviews and it makes me want to give you guys another chapter, but then writers block, laziness, and other obligations come and smack me in the face. But I'm here now and I will continue this story!

Chapter 11:

It had been a whole month since Kate saw Richard Castle leave her apartment. Between that day and the present they still worked together, he still annoyed her relentlessly, and they went on as they did before. Everyone still thought that Josh was the father of her unborn child, and although she knew she had to tell them the truth before she gave birth to a mini-Castle she was afraid to. She didn't want to be looked at any differently once everyone knew of her drunken one night affair with her partner. She always prided herself on her confidence and strength in comparison to other women, but this made her shrink back into the self-conscious teenaged girl.

Kate was now fourteen weeks along; her baby bump had definitely popped and you could tell she was pregnant. Her queasiness was slowly easing away, although she still had no appetite. Her sleeplessness on the other hand was still there; her nights consisted of her tossing and turning trying to get comfortable but to no avail. She swore she could feel movement, even if all the books told her otherwise. She shared more with Castle than she did before; they would get lunch or dinner together almost every day and she would tell him any new occurrence. Today was Kates 14 week appointment and as usual, Castle was there by her side.

"So have you booked your gender ultrasound yet?" He asked in excitement.

"Yeah, it's in three weeks." She replied. "What do you hope it is?"

"Well, seeing as I already have a daughter I wouldn't mind having a little boy running around; but I honestly would love having another daughter. How about you?"

"I would love a little girl, but if I had a son I would be equally happy."

"Kate Beckett, the doctor will see you now." The nurse called out.

The doctors appointment went as planned; according to the doctor Kate was in great health along with the baby who was developing correctly.

"So, I think we should go shopping for the baby."

"Castle, we don't know the gender yet, I think we should wait."

"Well, the crib and change table are gender neutral. We can get those."

"There is still a lot we need to figure out before we buy those."

"Like what?"

"Like will we have to buy two cribs and change tables, and where we'll be spending most of our time once the baby is born."

"I figured you would move in to my place, I have enough room."

"How about Alexis ad your mother, I doubt they would want to be awoken by a crying infant in the middle of the night."

"Mother and Alexis adore you, and they've already been preparing for this baby's arrival."

Kate stood there in silence. All her excuses had run out, she couldn't keep putting it off; her and Castle were having a child together in six months.

"Kate, why are you doing this?" He asked. "I've already told you about how I feel about you."

"I…I need to go."

"You can't keep running away Kate. I love you, I have for a long time, and I know you feel the same way."

She looked into his eyes and knew he truly meant it, but she couldn't get over her fears. Richard Castle was one of New York cities famous bachelors; he had women flocking to him wherever he went. What if one day he abandoned her and their child for a new young thing?

"Castle, I…I don't know." She began. "I'm sorry."

He watched her walk to her car and drive away. He sadly made his way home and found his mother looking through photos.

"Hey kiddo, I'm just looking through Alexis' baby photos." She said without looking up. "It's crazy knowing that soon there'll be another baby in this house."

"Mmmmhmmm."

Martha looked up and saw her sons' sullen face. "Richard what's the matter?"

"I told Kate I loved her today."

"She didn't take it well." She stated.

"She's afraid, I know she is. I want to be there for her for the rest of our lives, she's the only person that I've ever felt this way about before." He began. "My relationships with Meredith and Gina failed because I went in purely on feelings alone, with Kate it's different."

"You need to tell her this son. She needs to know that you're not going to leave her for the next best thing." Martha replied. "Kate has been through hell and back, she's afraid that if she jumps into this she'll lose everything."

The light bulb in his mind went on. His mother was right; he needed to tell her all of this before it was too late.

"Thank you mother!" He said getting up and leaving the loft.

* * *

Kate sat in her apartment reading one of the many baby books she had bought weeks ago. These books were like gold, often helping her through any situation in her pregnancy. She sipped her bottle of water and tried to eat even if the turkey sandwich that sat on her counter was unappetizing to her.

She heard a knock at her door and dog-eared her book page before setting it down and answering it.

"Castle, what do you want?"

"Kate, I love you." He began. "I know you're afraid that I'll leave for the next best thing, but you are the best thing and nothing and no one can be better than you. All my other relationships were purely based on feelings, but with you there's more. Not only do I love you, but I want to keep on loving you forever."

He took a deep breath as if his speech had been only on a single breath and then continued.

"I want a future with you; I want you and only you forever and always. I want everything with you, even the fights and the craziness. You're the only woman I've ever felt this way about. Kate, I love you."

His speech had stirred something within her; perhaps it was the hormones or perhaps it was her breaking away from her fear, but instead of sending him away she moved closer and kissed his lips. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her firmly against his body.

"I love you too Castle." She whispered as they broke apart. She pulled him in to her apartment and kissed him once more.

"So, what convinced you to come here and profess your love?"

"As odd as it sounds, my mother." He replied. "She saw that I was heartbroken and she talked some sense into me."

"I'll have to thank Martha." She smiled.

"I think the fact that you're carrying her grandchild is thanks enough." He chuckled. "So about the moving in thing?"

"Not so fast there, buddy! I'm not moving in with you just yet."

"What? Why not?"

"I want a date, actually a few dates. We didn't start out the traditional way, so I want at least one or two normal things in this relationship before we talk about moving in."

"Deal, I'll pick you up at seven tonight." He replied standing up from her couch. "Wear something pretty."

"You mean tonight?"

"I want to get a jump start on these dates, the sooner the better. See you tonight." He winked as he left her apartment.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

* * *

Like he said he was at her door at 7 with a bouquet of flowers.

"You look beautiful."

"I feel like a whale, but thanks." She replied. "So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

The date did turn out to be a surprise. Castle had taken her back to his loft for a candlelit dinner for two. It was intimate and romantic, something she never imagined Richard Castle could do. For dinner he had made wild rice, baked chicken, and a fresh salad which looked very appetizing to her. He pulled out her chair for her, poured her a drink and made her forget that she was pregnant; instead she was on a first date with a handsome man who really cared for her.

By the end of the night Castle had taken her home and kissed her goodnight like the perfect gentleman before saying goodnight and turning to leave. But before he could leave she grabbed his arm and pulled him back for another kiss, this time longer and more passionate. She pulled him into her apartment and shut the door.

"What happened to traditional and normal?" He breathed heavily between kisses.

"Screw normal, I just want you."

There you have it guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm surprised at how easily all this came out, for the longest time I couldn't write anything but now it's all pouring out of me. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday, and for all you Americans, a Happy Thanksgiving!


	13. Chapter 12

Hey everyone! Here's another chapter. I hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 12:

Ever since their date only Martha, Alexis, and Jim Beckett knew about their relationship. All were elated that the two had finally seen the light and followed their hearts instead of being scared. Alexis was so happy that her father and Detective Beckett were finally together. At one point she was afraid that they would never be together and that her father would never be happy, but now she was at ease and could now focus on being the best big sister ever.

Today Kate, Rick, Jim, Martha, and Alexis all sat in the waiting room; at 17 weeks and 3 days Kate and Rick were finally finding out the gender of their baby.

"What do you want it to be Gram?"

"It doesn't matter to me. I'll love that child regardless." Martha replied. "What about you? Do you want a little brother or sister?"

"A little sister would be great, but a little brother would be great too, although if the baby does turn out to be a boy I'm afraid of how much of dads' personality he'll get…"

"Hey!" Rick sounded shocked.

"What, it's true." Alexis replied.

"Wow, we've got a big crowd here!" The nurse interrupted. "We're ready for you now."

They followed the nurse to the room where they had Kate lie back on the table and lift her shirt. Rick sat by her side and held her hand while Martha, Alexis, and Jim stood behind. The Ultrasound technician squirted the gel on to Kates now protruding belly and placed the transducer on it. The screen instantly came to life and showed the baby. The baby moved around like crazy; Kate already knew her baby would be exactly like Rick.

"Let's hope this baby cooperates. I've seen plenty of babies who just won't let us reveal their gender."

After about five minutes the baby finally cooperated. The tech didn't even need to reveal the gender, everyone could already tell.

"That's our boy!" Rick exclaimed with a big smile.

Kate cried tears of joy; seeing their little boy on screen was overwhelming. She looked over to Rick and saw his face.

"Are you crying?" She teased.

"No." He replied fully aware that everyone was now looking at his face and tear-rimmed eyes.

"I've never seen this side of you before Castle." She teased.

"Hahaha very funny." He replied. "You're crying too."

"Hey, I'm a mess of hormones right now I'm allowed to cry like a mad woman."

"I can't believe I'm getting a grandson!" Jim said eagerly.

"I can't believe I'm getting a baby brother. I can't wait to be a big sister!"

Rick took a hold of his daughters hand and pulled her onto his lap and gave her a hug. He was so happy that Alexis was kind hearted and understanding. She had been nothing but supportive during this pregnancy. He knew she would be a great sister.

They watched the rest of the ultrasound and saw the baby kick and roll constantly. There was never a moment where he sat still.

* * *

After the ultrasound Kate and Rick sat on her couch with their arms around each other.

"So when do you want to tell everyone about our…situation?" Castle asked.

"Well, we should do it soon. Everyone's been on my case since they found out that Josh and I broke up. They're all worried about me being a single mother."

"I have an idea; why don't we invite them over for dinner at my place and we can announce that we're having a boy?"

"I like that. We can organize it after we finish this case."

"Can we start choosing out names?" Rick asked. "We can't call him our boy forever."

"I already have a few names picked out."

"Please do tell."

"I love the name Liam, and the name Aiden."

"Those are good. How about the name Jameson?"

"We are not naming our kid after a character in your book."

"Derek?"

"Castle, no!"

"Fine, fine. I'll think up of a few."

"Wow!" She sighed. "I can already tell that this baby will be exactly like his father." She reached for his hands and placed them on her belly. "He never stops."

"Wow, that's amazing. Alexis didn't move much when she was still in the womb, so I never got to feel her much."

"There's a lot you didn't do isn't there?"

"Yeah, I wasn't allowed to go to the pre-natal visits, I didn't get to feel much movement, I didn't even help decorate the nursery because Meredith hired help for that." He replied. "I'm surprised that she let me into the birthing room, although she did yell at me for most of the time."

"I can promise you that I won't do any of those things. Except for the yelling part, I think that comes with giving birth."

"You already yell, so I'm used to it."

She laughed. "So do you have any ideas for the nursery?"

"Yes!" He pulled out his phone and began scrolling to find the images he had saved. "We should get a crib made with dark wood; those look much nicer than the white ones. They have a matching change table and dresser at Pottery Barn Kids. I was thinking of doing a Dr. Seuss theme or The Very Hungry Caterpillar Theme, or monkeys theme…"

Kate was very surprised at all that he had planned already. He had pulled out pictures and clippings that he had tucked away in his notebook.

"I also got some paint chips. I figured you would want to remain gender neutral, but I've found a lot of great boy colors…"

"Wow, Castle, you've really worked hard on this."

"This is what I do instead of paperwork. So what do you think?"

"I really like the Dr. Seuss theme. My mom used to make us watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas every single year for Christmas. It was a big deal in our house."

"Then Dr. Seuss it is." He replied. "I was thinking 'Oh the Places You Will Go' or 'The Cat in the Hat' as our theme."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss. The rest of the night they planned the nursery and picked out colors, bedding and even decided on a crib.

* * *

The next day at the precinct Castle invited Esposito, Lanie, Ryan, Jenny, and Capitan Montgomery to dinner for the following night. Beckett held up the ruse of annoyed friend so that their reveal could be a big surprise to everyone.

She couldn't wait to finally get it off her chest. Ryan and Esposito had come to her after they found out about her break up with Josh and offered to rough up the Doctor and promised to be their for her and the baby. She declined their first offer but happily accepted them as uncles to her child.

"So I was thinking…" She began before taking a bite from her burger. "I should start moving my things in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I want to do it before I'm to big to move around."

"Let's start this weekend." He replied. "We can even start painting the nursery! I'm buying the paint tonight."

"I'd give you a kiss, but I see a few people from the precinct sitting over my the windows."

"That's okay; just know that you'll owe me one."

"Who owes who what?" Esposito asked.

"Apparently I owe Castle a soda." She lied.

"Not apparently, you do." He smirked. "I'll be expecting my payment by the end of the day."

"So how's my unborn niece or nephew?" Ryan asked changing the subject.

"Good, baby's not letting me sleep much but everything's good." She replied. "You thought I was going to reveal the gender didn't you?"

"Come on Beckett, just tell us!"

"No, you'll have to wait until tomorrow like everyone else will."

"Does Castle know?"

"No, but that hasn't stopped him from guessing."

"What has writer-boy guessed?"

"I say it's a girl. I'm 95% sure I'm correct." He replied.

"Is he right?"

Beckett shrugged in response. "You'll see tomorrow."

* * *

That night was finally here. Kate arrived early and helped Rick make dinner and set up for the night.

"You ready?" He asked.

"I'm a little nervous, but I'm ready to get it off my chest."

"Good. I wonder how they'll react."

"They'll be shocked, no doubt. But they'll be happy for us." She replied. "I know Lanie will throw in an 'I told you so'."

The first to arrive were Jenny and Ryan followed by the Capitan and his wife and then finally Lanie and Esposito.

They all sat down to dinner, Kate and Rick especially nervous to share their news. Through out dinner they discreetly looked at each other working up the courage to come out with the news.

"So Beckett, we've been waiting for your big gender reveal…" Montgomery hinted.

"You guys are getting a lot more than a gender reveal." She sighed.

"You're having twins?" Lanie guessed.

"No, there's only one baby but…."

"We're having a boy!" Rick blurted out interrupting her sentence.

"We?" Everyone said in unison.

"Yes, that's the big news." Kate affirmed. "Josh isn't the father, Castle is. Josh and I broke up when I found out because he knew that Castle was a good father and he didn't want to overstep."

"Well, I definitely didn't see that one coming." Ryan stated.

"All I have to say is finally! I swear it was as if you two were blind!" Lanie exclaimed.

"Congratulations." Esposito said. "So are you two together now?"

"Yeah, we've been together for three weeks and I'm slowly starting to move in. We want a stable home for our son, no matter how unstable his father is."

"Yeah…Hey!" She said realizing her insult.

"So how did Castle get you pregnant?" Ryan asked. "That came out wrong, I meant to ask how did all of this start?"

"We went to the Old Haunt for drinks…"

"A lot of drinks." Castle clarified.

"Oh." The group said in unison understanding how their relationship started.

"So any names yet?" Montgomery asked.

"We're still thinking about those. Castle keeps suggesting Chaucer or Sinclair."

"What, those are great names."

"If you want our son to get beat up on the playground."

"Please he'll have half of your genealogy and half of mine; there's no way he'll get bullied."

"He will if he has that name."

"Glad to see their relationship hasn't changed anything." Esposito muttered to Lanie.

It was true. Through they were now in a relationship the only change between them was the fact that they kissed among other things and were now having a child. They still argued and she still found him annoying at times, but that annoyance was quickly shadowed by love.

"You should name him Javier." Esposito suggested.

"Or Kevin." Ryan added.

"Those are definitely better than Chaucer or Sinclair."

"Why those Castle?" Lanie asked.

"Chaucer after Geoffrey Chaucer and Sinclair after Sinclair Lewis."

"He wants to name him after an author."

"How about Bram?"

"No."

"Theodore? You know to go along with our nursery."

"Nursery?" Montgomery asked.

"Yeah, we're going with a Dr. Seuss theme." Castle replied. "We can shorten it to Ted or Teddy?"

"No, that just makes me think of Ted Bundy."

"Marcel?"

"No."

"Oh, wait! How about Samuel…? You know like Samuel Beckett! It's meant to be!"

She gave him a glare which told him to shut up.

"You know what we can think of names later. We've got 4 months to choose."

Here you go! I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I'm having a hard time coming up with names for this baby. I'm between three right now; Liam Kevin, Caden Alexander, and Cohen Richard. What do you guys think? Responses would be amazing! Hope you had a wonderful holiday and have a terrific New Year!


	14. Chapter 13

Hey everyone! Go ahead and call me a slacker, because I know I've definitely been one. I'm really very sorry, I keep telling myself I'm going to write and then I end up doing everything else but. Plus, I've been in school (yes, it's excuse after excuse) but now I'm finished for the semester and I'll be back to writing for the next few months! Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 13:

Kate walked into the morgue and saw her best friend looking over a dead body.

"Hey girl."

"Hey Lanie, what was the call about?"

"Can't I say hi to my best friend?"

"Yeah but that's what phones or texts are for."

"Alright Detective, I just wanted to have some girl talk. I'm almost done here; I figured we could go out for lunch since you're case free."

"Sounds good." Kate replied.

She waited as Lanie finished and then got ready before they both made their way to a small restaurant.

"So, are you going to tell me any details?"

"Details about what?"

"Girl, you are pregnant, with Richard Castles baby!" She exclaimed quietly.

"I think our unborn son is enough detail into what happened."

"Yes, but from what I remember from last night, you two have been dating three weeks and as far as I know you're 18 weeks along."

"And?"

"Well, I'm your best friend; I deserve to know what happened between all of that time."

"Fine, when I first decided that I was going to keep the baby Castle said that he wanted to be involved and I let him. Things kind of just grew from there, literally. Three weeks ago we went out on a date and now I'm slowly moving in."

"So any wedding bells in the near future?"

"If I plan on being pregnant when I walk down the aisle. No, Castle and I have not spoken about any of that stuff. I think the best we can do right now is to work this relationship out and care for our son together, then maybe after we can start thinking about that."

Lanie rolled her eyes. "Well if you two start thinking about it remember that I call Maid of Honor."

Kate smiled at her best friend and rolled her eyes. Marriage was at the back of her mind at the moment. The only things she could focus on were work and her son.

"Fine, no wedding talk, but now you're going to let me plan the baby shower."

"I'd love that Lanie."

"So have you and Castle thought up of any names?"

"Castle still wants to name him after an author. He suggested Geoffrey after Geoffrey Chaucer but all I could think of was Jeffrey Dahmer…"

"The perks of being a homicide detective…"

"Tell me about it. It's so hard trying to find a name that doesn't remind me of some wacko." She replied. "I really like the name Alexander, but I don't want his name to be so close to Alexis'."

"Speaking of little Castle, how is she taking the news?"

"She was one of the firsts to know so she's known for a while now. But, she's been great; she's helping out with the nursery, she's been buying things for the baby…she's going to be a great sister."

"And step-daughter…"

"Lanie."

"Sorry, marriage discussion over."

"Thanks. Marriage is the last thing on my mind. Besides, I don't want Castle to feel like he has to marry me just because I'm carrying his child."

"Please, the man loves you. He'd marry you if you weren't pregnant."

She rolled her eyes at her friend. "So how are you and Javi doing?"

"Nice subject change. We're doing great, he's really excited about being an uncle; he says he'll be the one to teach baby Castle how to play baseball, football and every other sport since Castle isn't athletically inclined."

She laughed. Of course Espo would say something like that. But, it made her happy to know that her son would be surrounded by good male role models.

"I still can't believe you're pregnant with Castle's baby…"

"Trust me, I know the feeling." She replied. "But Castle's a good father, even if he is like a 9 year old on a sugar rush."

"Let's hope this kid doesn't inherit that part of the genealogy."

"Too late. He kicks and rolls every second of the day. Hopefully he inherits some of Alexis' traits."

"Yeah, it makes me wonder how Alexis is so well behaved while her father is…"

"Not; I've been wondering about that since the day I met her."

* * *

Back at the precinct Castle waited in his usual spot with a cup of tea.

"That was a long lunch."

"Well you know Lanie…"

"So how did it go?" Rick asked her as she sat down.

"It went well; as usual there were many questions about us."

"Nice. Oh, and thanks for leaving me alone with thing 1 and thing 2…"

"What did they do?"

"Several threats of bodily harm if I ever hurt you and a few pats on the back."

"I always knew I could count on them." She smiled slyly.

"Hey, that's not very nice. I even brought you a nice cup of tea and you thank me by insulting me!"

"Well what did you expect, our son likes to play kickball with my bladder and he enjoys kicking and punching his mommy a little too much."

Rick smiled. He loved hearing her say 'our son'; it made him happy to see how far they had come from when they first found out about the pregnancy and it made him hopeful for their future.

* * *

After 20 minutes of working on paperwork Kate noticed Rick looking at her.

"Yes Castle?"

"Is it just me or is everyone staring at us?"

"Everyone is staring at us. What do you expect; we did just tell them we're having a child together and that we're in a relationship."

"Yeah, but they seemed alright with it."

"Yes, and now they want to see how we interact with each other now that we're in a relationship."

"So what do we do now?"

"Just go about as we usually do when we're at work."

"Oh, alright then." He pulled out his phone and eagerly played Angry Birds.

"Man, would you look at them…" Esposito started at Beckett and Castle.

"What's the matter?" Ryan asked.

"It's so weird. I mean I always knew that Castle had a thing for Beckett and vice versa but I never thought they'd actually act upon it."

"Yeah, but at least now we can stop placing bets on them." He replied.

"I was really hoping that I was going to win that one. Hey, we can always bet on when he'll propose…"

"I like the way you think!"

* * *

That night Kate arrived at the Castle loft after needing to go home to grab some clothes.

"I made dinner."

"You always do, and I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat."

"I know, but everything's unappetizing to me." She replied.

"Even homemade Pizza with mushrooms, peppers, and olives?"

"See, that sounds really good, but I know once I eat it…"

"You'll feel sick, I know. You need to eat though."

"Alright, I'll make myself some toast."

"You can't keep eating toast for the rest of your pregnancy. Have you told the doctor about this?"

"Yeah, he says it's 'perfectly normal'." She replied clearly annoyed. "I swear every symptom I tell him about is 'perfectly normal'. Next time I'll tell him I've been bleeding from my eyeballs and see what he says about that."

Rick smiled at her rant. Seeing her get worked up over a little issue was funny and adorable, her brow would furrow and her nose would scrunch up a little. He jus wanted to pull her into a kiss.

"What's so funny?"

"You, you're adorable."

"How am I adorable?"

"You're always adorable. Our boy is going to be a heart breaker."

"I wouldn't be surprised." She laughed. "Speaking of our boy, we need to start picking out names…"

"How about Charles?"

"Manson." She replied.

"Kate, we can't nix every name because it belonged to a murderer."

"Yeah, well I can't help it."

"Fine, fine, you win."

"Good. I was looking through names online and I found a couple of really nice names."

"Please do share."

"I really like the name Blake or Blakely. Also Brody, Caden, Caleb, Carson, Cohen, Easton, and Liam."

"Wow, you've been researching a lot."

"What do you think? which one do you like?"

"I like the name Liam and Caden."

"Yeah, we can call him Caden Alexander or Liam Alexander…"

"Alexander?"

"Yeah, I want him to have a bit of his daddy in his name."

"Well, he'll have my last name…I prefer Liam Nicholas or Caden Ryan."

"I like that too."

"Don't sound so surprised!" He smiled. "So are we settled on those two names?"

"I don't know, I still want to keep looking, but those names are pretty high up on the list."

"Plus when he's born he may not look like a Caden or Liam. Did you know that we originally planned on name Alexis Hannah?"

"You did?"

"Yeah, but when she was born she looked nothing like a Hannah."

"That's interesting. I guess that means we may be thinking of names for a couple months longer."

"That's okay with me."

Sorry for the short chapter and abrupt ending. Hope you enjoyed and I'm definitely back in the game now that school's over. I want to finish 3 of my stories that are up and start on sequels and such. Hope you're having a wonderful day!


	15. Chapter 14

Hey everyone! Thanks for the patience with my updates. Here's another chapter. By the way Kate is 24 weeks along in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14:

Kate and Alexis stood in the now blue room. Esposito, Ryan, and Rick had painted it the week before and now Kate and Alexis wanted to start placing the decals on the wall before they put the furniture in.

"Dad used to always read this story to me when I was a kid." Alexis sighed as she placed the yellow and green polka-dot decals on the wall.

"Yeah, he told me about that."

"I'm so excited to be a big sister. I can't wait to meet him."

"Neither can I. I'm glad that you're excited; I was afraid that you wouldn't be happy when I first found out."

"I was shocked, but I was more shocked that you and dad weren't planning on getting back together at the time." She replied.

"I'm glad that I have yours and Martha's approval." She smiled.

"So have you thought up of any more names?"

"We've settled on a few, but we're not going to decide until he's born just in case he doesn't look like a certain one."

"Well, I like the names Oliver and Shane."

"I like those. I'll put them on the list."

They heard the buzzer and Alexis ran to the door excitedly.

"What's going on?"

"I know you told me that I shouldn't spend my money on anything else, but I couldn't help it."

"Alexis?"

The redhead opened the door and found a man with a big box.

"Sign right her Miss Castle."

She signed the electronic pad and then let the man place the box in the living room before leaving.

"Alexis, what is this?"

"Open it."

Kate walked over to the box and pulled it open to find Dr. Seuss bedding, sheets, crib bumper, diaper stacker, a hamper, and a clock.

"Alexis, you shouldn't have…" She gasped.

"I know, but I was looking it up and I knew it would be perfect for the room." She replied. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." She smiled pulling the girl into a hug. "This is going to look so great in the room."

"Let's go put the stuff in there."

* * *

The next day Kate and Rick were back at work. They'd hoped that the precinct would have gotten over the fact that they were now a couple, but there were still occasional stares and whispers.

"Hey boss, we've got a new case." Ryan informed as she set her cup down.

"Let's go Castle." She ordered.

They arrived to find Lanie kneeling by the victim.

"Good morning Lanie, what do we have?"

"Female, late teens to early 20's, and by the petechial hemorrhaging I'd say she was asphyxiated." She replied.

"Any I.D.?"

"Victims name is Charleigh Dewitt. Age 20 and a student at Parsons." Esposito replied.

"Alright, you and Ryan go canvas the neighborhood and Castle and I will find any relatives."

Castle and Beckett drove back to the precinct.

"So did you see what Alexis bought for her baby brother?"

"Yeah. I have to admit, I had a little tear in my eye."

"You're always crying Castle." She teased.

"Am not."

"Oh really, than what was going on last night when we were watching The Lion King?"

"Not fair, that is a beautiful movie!"

She smiled as she parked and got out of the car.

"Hello Beckett, Castle."

"Hey Ludwig." She replied to the officer walking out of the 9th. She noticed him stare at her belly quickly before smiling, nodding and leaving. "You'd think they'd be used to it my now."

"What?" Rick feigned clueless.

She rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously going to do that?"

"I was hoping to." He replied. "Does it bother you that they know I'm the father?"

"Of course not. It's just getting annoying that they still haven't gotten used to it."

"Give it time."

"It's been six weeks." She replied. "At least I haven't caught anyone staring at my chest."

"That's probably because I'm here."

"Or the fact that I'm armed."

"Yeah, that sounds more likely.

My mid-afternoon they had gotten in touch with the victims family in New Jersey and called and spoken to her roommates.

"Look what I brought!" Castle exclaimed as he sat in his chair. He pulled a burger out of the white paper bag.

"Thanks Castle, baby was starting to get hungry anyways."

"The baby or you?"

"Maybe both."

She had finally gotten over the nausea over food and at 24 weeks she was now feeling hungry more often. At their last doctors appointment when she was 22 weeks along they had gotten prenatal screenings for any diseases. The doctors office had called and told them the baby was not in any danger of having any genetic disorders or diseases, which brought much relief to everyone. At 24 weeks their baby boy was nearly a foot long and weighed over a pound. Kate now had even more trouble getting to sleep at night because her son would kick and roll constantly at night.

"So what do you think about the roommates?"

"I'm not ready to rule them out, but until I get a proper alibi from everyone of them, I'm going to keep on investigating them."

* * *

By 9 they had Charleigh Dewitt's violent ex-boyfriend in custody Beckett had decided to sit this interrogation out and let Ryan and Esposito lead. Rick was surprised at how much she had given up. He had been afraid she would still be out running after suspects and putting herself in danger, like she had in the beginning but she now sat at her desk when they got any leads and let Ryan and Esposito lead interrogations if she felt they were to stressful.

"Hey, you want to go home now?" He asked.

"Yeah, if I stay here any longer I'll probably fall asleep at my desk." She stood up shrugging on her jacket.

"So Alexis gave me two more name options…"

"What are they?"

"Oliver and Shane."

"I like those. Especially Oliver, after Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens."

"I thought you'd like that one."

"Oliver Twist is a classic!"

"Did you ask Alexis to tell me that one?" She asked suspiciously.

"No, but I am proud of my daughter for picking out such a great name."

"Alright, I'll believe you. Let's go."

That's it for today! I felt it was really important to add some Kate and Alexis bonding especially since I hadn't written anything about that yet. Next chapter should be up soon.


	16. Chapter 15

Kenzie's finally written a new chapter?! Insane right? I know it's taken me forever and a day, but I keep putting it off because I'm buried in things to do. Luckily I found some time to do some writing between my busy schedules. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 15:

Kate sat on the couch eating a bowl of mixed fruit. Her son craved junk food, but she still insisted on eating healthy most of the time. Rick was in his office writing, Martha was teaching an acting class, and Alexis was in her room working on homework.

"Is he finally agreeing to the healthy food?" Rick took a seat beside her.

"Nope, but he's going to have to get used to It." she replied. "Do you hear that? Mommy isn't going to feed you any junk food when you're out of here." she said to her 32 week belly.

"But Daddy might."

"You do that and I'll shoot you."

He smiled at her threat knowing she would most likely yell at him rather than shoot him.

"We should get to bed; we did have a long day today."

"You did maybe, I just sat doing paperwork."

"Come on, let's get to bed." he insisted.

"Just so you know I'm only listening for our son's sake."

* * *

At 12:15 she woke up with sharp pains and her belly tightening.

"Castle, wake up!" she nudged him roughly.

"What? What is it?"

"I think I'm having contractions..."

"You're only 32 weeks. Are you sure they're not Braxton Hicks?"

"I've had those before and these feel nothing like them."

"Get ready, I'll wake Alexis up and tell her what's going on and then we'll go to the hospital."

She got ready quickly and packed a small bag just in case she had to stay over night.

"Kate are you and the baby going to be okay?" Martha asked worriedly.

"I hope so. It's too early for him to come right now."

They were packed up in the car Martha and Alexis insisting that they go too and drove to New York Presbyterian.

When they arrived they were immediately set up in a room where Kate was hooked up to machines that recorded her contractions as well as the baby's heartbeat.

"Miss Beckett, I'm Dr. Andrews I'm the attending OB on shift. Tell me when did you start having these contractions?"

"I woke up around midnight with my stomach feeling tight and I remember it being painful."

"I can tell from the charts that they've been consistent, coming along every 5 minutes..." he replied. "Have you been under any stress lately? At work or home..."

"Not much. I've been put on desk duty at work so the most I do is staple papers together."

"Okay, we're going to have to check you for dilation. I'm going to need you to scoot up to the edge..."

Martha and Alexis were already out getting coffee so there was no worry about things getting awkward.

She flinched when she felt the doctor's hand. There was a bit of pain, but it wasn't unbearable.

"You're only about a half centimeter dilated. We're going to keep watch for a few hours and see if the contractions subside, if they don't we'll have to give you Terbutaline which will stop your contractions."

"Will it be dangerous for the baby?"

"Just from hearing the heart beat, I can assume that there is no fetal distress. We'll get an ultrasound for you to make sure. Also, we're now going to have to see you every week just to monitor how the baby is doing."

Martha and Alexis came back right as Dr. Andrews was leaving.

"How's the baby?" Alexis asked.

"He's doing alright for now, but they're getting an ultrasound just to make sure."

"Do you think he'll come tonight?" she frowned looking frightened.

"No the doctor said they would administer something to stop the contractions if they don't subside."

"Alexis, Martha why don't you two go home. I'll probably be here a few hours..."

"No!" the pair replied in unison.

"I'm not leaving here until I know that the both if you are fine." Alexis stated.

"Same goes for me kiddo."

By 4 am her contractions were still there. Dr. Andrews ordered the Terbutaline after checking the baby once more for fetal distress.

"Hey, baby bird wake up." Rick nudged his daughter.

"How're Kate and the baby?"

"A lot better. The doctor gave her something to stop the contractions we're going home now."

Sleep in her eyes she stood and immediately went to Kate to give her a hug.

"I'm glad you're both alright."

"Me too."

After being discharged and sent home Rick insisted that Kate take the day off. She had been up since midnight and the thought of her going to work on 3 hours of sleep was not pleasant.

For the first time, Kate actually agreed with him. She was exhausted and didn't want to risk their son's life just so she can look through papers.

"Dad I think I should stay home too..." Alexis began. "What if Kate needs something?"

"She won't be alone. Gram is postponing her class until tomorrow." he replied. "Besides, I doubt that Kate would be very happy you're skipping school."

"You're right. It's just what happened today really scared me, I don't want anything bad to happen to them."

"Me too sweetie; Kate's stubborn and if your little brother is anything like his mom he'll be as well."

"I guess I should get some sleep, although I don't know how two hours will help me at all..."

"How about I write you an excuse for being tardy so that you can get a few more hours in."

"Really?!"

"Of course; I know how you are on little sleep." he replied giving a kiss at the crown of her head. "Now get to bed!"

"Thanks dad."

He felt horrible leaving Kate today, but both her and Martha insisted he go to the 12th.

"Don't tell Lanie about what happened she'll freak if she finds out."

"I'm pretty sure she's going to find out you know, with the whole you not being at work."

"She'll probably be busy anyways; we do have an open case. Just don't tell the guys, I'm pretty sure Espo will blab to his girlfriend if he knows."

"What am I supposed to tell them?"

"You're a best selling author; I'm assuming you can come up with something."

"Alright, alright." he leant in and gave her a kiss before leaving to the kitchen.

"She's going to be fine kiddo." Martha assured him.

"I can't help but worry though."

"I know, but take it from me worrying like this will bring no good." she replied. "I'll take good care of them, that's my future daughter in law and grandson, I'll let no harm come to them."

* * *

"Where's Beckett?" Ryan asked as soon as he saw Castle walking in alone.

"She was pretty tired and has a migraine so she took a sick day."

"Wow, Beckett taking a sick day is like the apocalypse...better call Jenny and tell her that I love her before the sun expands and we're burned to a crisp."

"So where are we on the case? Beckett expects me to keep her updated on what's going on."

"We've got a new suspect; the victim's neighbor told us she heard a nasty argument between the vic and his roommate."

"Oooh, tell me when you pick him up!"

The day went by slowly without Kate there. He knew it would go by much slower once she went on maternity leave, but he would be able to handle it.

* * *

"Hello Mother. How was Kate today?"

"That woman is the most stubborn person I've ever met." Martha replied. "She was supposed to be resting, but I kept finding her up."

"That's my girl." He laughed.

He made his way to their bedroom and found her sitting up in bed on her laptop.

"I've heard that you weren't following the rules today…"

"I can't help it. You know I can't sit still."

"I know, but you need to rest."

"I did rest, but believe me, if you were me you'd be walking around too."

He sat on the bed right beside her. "What are you looking at?"

"Hospital bag lists. Yesterday made me realize I need to pack mine and baby's hospital bag."

"Last night really scared me; I'm glad you took the day off today was pretty stressful case wise so it was good that you were away."

"I'm glad I took the day off too. Does anyone know what really happen?"

"Just Captain Montgomery, I figured he's the one who really needed to know the truth."

"Yeah, thanks."

Abrupt ending I know, but there is another chapter coming soon. And this time I really mean soon because the next two chapters are already ¾ of the way finished. See you guys soon!


	17. Chapter 16

As promised, here's another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 16:

Kate was in the hospital once again. She was 35 weeks and was having contractions just like she had the weeks before. This time though, she couldn't cover it up from Lanie because they happened at work.

It was a case less day, but there was still work to be done. The team had a court case coming up and they had to organize the paperwork and the evidence. After having met with the DA to go over testimonies they finally had a break for lunch.

Rick brought her a chicken salad from a Greek restaurant she had come to love during her pregnancy. She was seated when she felt the first contraction pass by. It was somewhat painful, and she felt her stomach tighten just like the last. Compared to the Braxton Hicks she'd had before these weren't the same.

"Kate, what's wrong?" Rick asked noticing the look on her face.

"I'm having contractions..."

"The same as before?"

She nodded.

"Alright, guys you need to take over for the rest of the day, I need to take Kate to the hospital."

"Is the baby coming?" Esposito asked.

"It's too early isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's why we need to get to the hospital."

"I'll tell Captain Montgomery." Ryan assured.

Kate let Rick drive the Crown Victoria to the hospital although she refused to let him use the sirens.

When they arrived, they were once again rushed into their own room. Kate was hooked up to monitors and the baby was kept on watch.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that you had preterm contractions before?" Lanie exclaimed as she walked into the hospital room.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you."

"Girl, you are crazy! I'm your best friend, not to mention I'm a doctor, I could have helped you."

"I said I was sorry Lanie."

"What have the doctors found out so far?"

"I'm 2 1/2 cm dilate and 60% effaced. Baby's not fully engaged yet, so the chances of him coming today are slim." she replied. "They're going to see if they stop on their own this time."

"How's daddy doing?" she asked about a clearly absent Castle who had gone outside to call Martha about what had happened.

"He's a little stressed out. This is the second time happening, so he's afraid that this time the baby will come." she explained. "It's still too early; if he comes he'll have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks."

Castle walked into the room and found the two women talking.

"Hello Lanie. Did Esposito run and tell you everything?"

"He called, no running involved at all."

"Did you call Martha and Alexis?"

"Yes and Alexis is rushing to get over here as is Mother."

"Looks like little Castle takes her role a big sister seriously..."

"Very." Rick replied.

"Well hopefully baby Castle waits a little longer to arrive; your baby shower is this week."

"Are you going to tell me what you and Alexis have planned out?"

"Nope, it's a surprise remember?"

Three hours later her contractions had stopped on their own. She received a call from Montgomery that it would be best if she took her Maternity leave a few weeks early just to be safe. Although she wished to continue working, and Montgomery told her it was her choice to leave early, she saw that Rick was worried and wanted her to go early to be safe.

* * *

Two days later, it was her baby shower. Castle drove her around town to pick up some last minute items while Alexis, Lanie, and Martha set the apartment up for the shower.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something..." she said aloud while in the pharmacy.

"We have everything checked off the list."

"Then why do I feel like I'm missing something?"

"Listen, let's go home for now. Maybe you'll get what you're missing at the shower and if you don't, I'll go out and get it for you."

"You just want to stop shopping."

"Can you blame me? We've been out since the morning."

"Well you can blame Lanie and your daughter for that." she replied. "At least we got to have a nice crime free day together before our boy is here."

"Yeah. And if he's anything like Alexis was when she was a baby we won't be getting any sleep."

"Oh god." she groaned at the thought.

When they arrived the loft was decorated with blue, brown, and green balloons and decorations. There was a large cake with Dr. Seuss decorations on top, and a large Dr. Seuss banner that read 'Cute & Cuddly a bundle of Joy Kate's expecting a baby boy'.

She felt underdressed wearing the skinny jeans and blouse she put on that morning, while all the other guests wore summer dresses. Oh well, she had an excuse as to why she was underdressed.

* * *

The shower was great. They played games, ate food, and opened presents. Kate was sure she no longer needed to buy any more clothes for her son since the guests had bought enough clothes for his first year. Jenny made a diaper cake that was so nice that Kate was contemplating on not using the diapers just so that she can keep it as decoration.

"Thanks for the great shower." She thanked Alexis and Lanie.

"We're glad you liked it." Alexis replied with a smile.

"Yeah, this girl is nearly as crazy as her father especially when it comes to planning parties."

"I heard that!" Castle shouted from his office.

They laughed before Lanie gave Alexis and Kate a hug before leaving.

"I'm so happy you liked the party!"

"You guys did a great Job. This one's lucky to have such an amazing big sister." She said patting her belly.

Alexis gave her a hug. "When I first learned that you were pregnant I was nervous about everything, but you make Dad so happy and I'm really happy too. I feel as though this was meant to happen. I know it sounds stupid, but if you weren't pregnant I don't think that you and Dad would've admitted your feelings for each other."

"It's not stupid, you're right actually. I was too scared to admit my feelings for your father before I fell pregnant, this little boy made me stop being such a chicken."

"I wouldn't call you a chicken; you are a cop after all. I think you're more cautious than chickened, and with Dad's past it's easy to understand why."

"You ladies talking about Richard?"

"Yeah, we're having a conversation about Dad's past."

"Ahh yes. You've definitely changed him Kate even after your first day of working together, I could tell something had changed."

"Okay, now you're exaggerating." Kate laughed.

"I'm not. He was so focused after he met you, like he needed to impress you."

"Gram's right. You've changed him."

"Well, that's great to know. I'm going to take a nap, this child has me exhausted."

Martha and Alexis smiled to each other as she walked away. They knew Kate had a hard time believing that she had changed Rick but it was the truth.

Another abrupt ending, I know. I hope you liked this chapter! I don't know when I'll next update, hopefully it'll be soon if not, I hope you guys can wait it out.


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